World Hit Festival 40 - Mousiki, Izmedu | IC Thread

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:01 pm

OOC THREAD - DRAFT THREAD

THREAD DIRECTORY

SEMI-FINAL 1
Opening Act - List of Participants - Interval Act - Qualifiers

SEMI-FINAL 2
Opening Act - List of Participants - Interval Act - Qualifiers

GRAND FINAL
Opening Act - List of Participants - Interval Act - Start of Voting - Winner Announcement

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:09 pm

20:00 IZMEDUAN TIME

It was an unprecedented development in World Hit Festival history. When 30 delegations were confirmed to have converged upon Mousiki, organizers realized what they had just signed-up for. Rule #6 in the World Hit Festival rulebook now had the chance to be invoked. It increased the commitment and effort almost tenfold for RTI on the ground. This was what RTI had envisioned ever since it took over the mantle of the overseership. What the channel didn't expect was for it to happen as they were about to exit from the position.

15 semi-finalists awaited their fate tonight... Only seven can have make it through to the grand final of the 40th World Hit Festival. Who will they be? Tonight, we find out...

OPENING THEME
Alajbeg Productions – Discovery
Tune: Nick Murray ft. Juliet Lyons - Existence

0:00-1:05
An image of a spatial-esque background appeared as the foreboding instrumentation began to play. As the camera zoomed in towards a galaxy, images of significant events from past World Hit Festivals up to the present began to play as the music built from its rumbling tone. The piano provided the backdrop for black and white images of past World Hit Festivals that began playing on the screens, acting as an almost 'epic' yet out-of-context recap of the World Hit Festival's history.

1:05-2:27
Those images were almost played in random order, 'decades' of the World Hit Festival grouped together in modified images in black and white. As an ethereal female vocal began to overlay itself on the instrumentation, causing the images to begin to burst to life in color. The later World Hit Festivals were emphasized, with images from Palmane, Harrikes, and Doportedas beginning to appear on the screen. When the song climaxed and hit its peak, the screen went dark... With a slow fade to the WHF40 logo at the piano outro.

The camera faded to a wide view of the stage. On the main stage was the hostess, standing behind a podium designed like a music note. Her name was Petra Krznar.

Petra: WELCOME TO THE FIRST SEMI-FINAL OF THE 40TH WORLD HIT FESTIVAL!

There was a large crowd cheer here, the camera cutting to views of the 11,000 person audience waving their flags for an occurrence that hadn't been seen since the 3rd World Hit Festival.

Petra: What a time for the World Hit Festival and what a time to be here. For only the second time in our history since Praetoria's hosting, we are now hosting the semi-finals of the World Hit Festival. Wow.

Petra: As many of you are aware, these semi-finals were invoked due to the participation of 30 delegations in Mousiki. This meant that we now had the opportunity to go through a semi-final stage and after much planning, this is now turning into a reality.

Petra: Tonight, 15 delegations and countries are represented and only seven will qualify to the grand final of the World Hit Festival. The first of these countries to sing is Lochario. Now, Lochario are a bit new to the World Hit Festival stage and they are hoping to kick things off with a bang tonight. They are represented by Guy in Jeans featuring Bjirn, who are the ones hoping to bring their country to the grand final. Lochario, take it away!

The camera cut to a view of the audience as Lochario's postcard commenced.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:10 pm

The Official Playlist for Semi-Final 1 of the 40th World Hit Festival

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:14 pm

Translation: To Paris
Tune: Tropico Band - U srcu mom

Both artists were born in Khurtan.Bjirn is a popular DJ across Lochario and Guy in Jeans is a singer.They were selected for this WHF because of their musical skills.

Staging: As shown in this clip from national qualifiers: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-8ocAwXr5Nk

Lyrics:
Dije tera,mak tovi jå nar
Soje mete,kilo mi tanan

Harni oji,teh mat
Dani Gühar o nom
O si ni köråt,am tiho mag tani(x2)

I Na Furis
Da si u kan
Fahur ma tiran,oli si ta bar
I Na Eifel
Da Martijä
Fahur ma tiran,sa ti eseran(x2)

Fehi treti,hå je eskelä
Girat mira,forhan usibä

Harni oji,teh mat
Dani Gühar o nom
O si ni köråt,am tiho mag tani(x2)

I Na Furis
Da si u kan
Fahur ma tiran,oli si ta bar
I Na Eifel
Da Martijä
Fahur ma tiran,sa ti eseran(x2)

Fahur ma tiran,sa ti eseran(x6)

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:19 pm

Translation: I
Tune: Vulcano — Francesca Michielin

Luísa Martineti is a Kalosian musician normally known for her ballads, although admittedly her discography up until this point did not only consist of slow songs but also faster-paced ballads. She is, however, in the process of evolving. She had gone on a semi-hiatus to take a step back and find out who she really is and determine what she wants to be all about. Coincidentally, this began around the time the #MeToo movement was gaining momentum, no less in Kalosia. During this hiatus, she discovered what it meant to be a woman, what it meant to truly be herself, when she wanted to be herself, and without letting anyone telling her how to be herself.

Thus she emerged for her comeback with this self-penned song, I. The demo concept was developed by herself and later developed with the help of 3 talented songwriters/producers. To build hype around her new single, she debuted the song at the 34th Festival dele Melodie Kalosiane, the national final for the 40th World Hit Festival, and won the competition. She now has the chance to present herself to an international audience, and as if on a lucky streak, it is the best that her career has ever been.

To enhance the meaning behind the song, she performs alone on stage, wearing this. As the song begins, the lights turn red and the atmosphere is quite mysterious. Slowly, Luísa emerges from her silhouette, getting to the mic in time to sing. A white spotlight shines on her as it becomes her turn to sing.

Ja
Lašu respirarë
Miu korpu kë es stanku
Sotu lë sol tšerka lej per tute le stele altre

Ja školtu a lej benë
Komë lë mar a la lunë
San la marinarë
A la barkë dëla vitë

As the song intensifies, some strobe lights begin to flash to the beat, although faintly dim.

Ja
Lašu liberë
Mia mentë krešendu
Tuti li limiti ja dëstružo u moji mani

E ja seǧu lej benë
Komë le kapre e loše kaprior
San la marinarë
La marinarë

The strobe lights intensify, becoming not so dim and more prominent.

Ja san la fejë kë pošide la notë
Ove sta le luže, la prosperere

Sekretu miu es solu krederë
E ašeto lej, ašeto la donë kë san ja
Sta la foržë u koru miu

Sta la foržë u koru miu

It's really the dynamic camera angles that make this performance. Luísa does to a few movements on the spot, but she doesn't really budge from where she stands. The ever-transforming angles of the camera add movement and life to her performance in ways she might not be able to convey similarly using just choreography. Some of the lights dim again just for this next part.

Ja
Lašu amarë
Miu koru kë a fam per
Unë animë, un altru koru di lë stesu kolor

Ja penšu a lej tristëmentë
Soji kridi per ajut
Ja sentu senzë speranzë
Sentu senzë speranzë

Again the lights intensify.

Ja san la fejë kë pošide la notë
Ove sta le luže, la prosperere

Sekretu miu es solu krederë
E ašeto lej, ašeto la donë kë san ja
Sta la foržë u koru miu

The camera switches to panning over the stage, where we can see that on the screen the often-repeated line of the song (which in English means "The strength lies in my heart") is being shown in different languages, including that of all the participating countries. Ever so often it also switches to a close up angle of Luísa, mostly when she specifically utters the lines next.

Sta la foržë u koru miu
Sta la foržë u koru miu

Sta la foržë u koru miu

The lights mostly become dark although the spotlight on her keeps her visible and standing out above everything else. She has taken off the mic from her stand and walks slowly towards front of the stage.

Sekretu miu es solu krederë
Ašeto lej san ja

San la marinarë
Di la barkë di miu vitë

Sta la foržë u koru miu

Yep, there she goes, walking powerfully and energetically through the catwalk and towards the satellite stage, truly feeling the music.

Sta la foržë u koru miu

Ja san la fejë kë pošide la notë
Ove sta le luže, la prosperere

As she arrives, the camera still focuses on her (though you can see a few flags in the background)

Sekretu miu es solu krederë
E ašeto lej, ašeto la donë kë san ja
Sta la foržë u koru miu

Ever-changing camera angles intensify the build up towards the end.

Sta la foržë u koru miu
Sta la foržë u koru miu
Sta la foržë u koru miu
Sta la foržë u koru miu

And there we have it! Luísa finishes her song beautifully with the camera panning over her and the stage, while the background screen displays the word "I" in several languages similarly to before, this time with the Kalosian "JA" centered, being the biggest and most prominent of all of them. The crowd cheers, Luísa thanks the crowd, and blows them kisses right before leaving the stage as the hosts make their way on it. That's it folks, but there were more songs in store for this semi-final alone. Up next was the Natanyan entry.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:22 pm

Tune: Iriao - For You | Instumental

Band Members Left to Right: Juno, Vaughne, Shkeamus, Paynter and Jakoba.

As the music begins to play, the sole spotlight shines down upon the pianist, playing the opening notes, positioned on the satellite stage in a sea of phone flashlights. Just before Shkeamus, the first of the vocalists begins, the camera fades from the aforementioned shot, to a shot of Shkeamus stood centre main stage. The LEDs on the back of the stage transition to a scene of falling yellow, orange and brown leaves, whereas the stage floor LEDs become a colourful mixture of all different still fallen leaves, with two clear paths leading from Shkeamus around both side runways and to the pianist on the satellite stage. The camera displays the autumn scene, and then steadly zooms and pans around Shkeamus during his verse.

Autumn leaves fall,
Like broken tear drops,
I don’t know why they fall but I’ll try to understand somehow.

Half way through the verse another vocalist, Juno, appears from behind Shkeamus and joins in with finishing the verse with him while positioning himself to stage left.

A faked smile,
A faked happiness,
Let me try and make it real even if it’s just for now.

As Vaughne and Paynter starts their joint verse, they appears seemly out of nowhere into the camera shot, blocking the view of Shkeamus and Juno and gradually walk towards stage right, with Paynter staying staying stage right but Vaughne continuing onto the right runway.

I’ll be a hand you can hold onto to,
When you feel that everyone looks straight through.

The camera then switches to Jakoba, the last of the five male vocalists, who is positioned on the corner of the left runway, opposite to where Vaughne is now stood, for his first line. The other four men join to finish the line during the lyrics "especially ", in which the camera pans out to show that the leaves are now being "blown" away.

My heart will always be open, especially for you.

This graphic continues as Shkeamus, still stood centre stage, takes control again and starts the next verse with the other four men providing backing harmonies. The camera, more zoomed in, pans across the entire stage, left to right, gradually showing each of the singers and the pianist, still on the satellite stage.

A true feeling, A familiar feeling.
One felt through the warmth of a heart that is healing.

Vaughne now takes control for a short solo, in which all of the leaves in the graphics have now gone, and the ground that it has revealed is left on show. In the second line Juno and Jakoba join in with Vaughne.

You may not feel it but I’ll try to help.
Help you feel this warmth, even if it’s just for now.

As the short bridge starts, a wave of spotlights flows out from the stage into the audience. All 5 men sing the bridge, however Paynter is the main vocalist during this section, with a few of the over men deliberately singing slightly quitter and as a note or two behind to create the proper effect.

To keep strength in your heart,
To keep trying in the dark.

As the next verse starts, all the graphics fade to black and any two levels of lights stay, a higher lever, basically shining from the top of the stage across the roof to the very top of the opposite seating area, which flashes in sync with the heavy percussion during the verse, and a lower lever, made up of 5 spotlights, each shining from behind one of the five vocalists. The camera once again slowly pans across the stage, but this time right to left and slightly higher so the pianist doesn't block the view of the centre stage. All 5 five men sing the verse in unison.

Trust my word and me, Trust me and you’ll see,
That the hurt doesn’t last forever, one day you’ll be free.

After the first two lines a red ring appears around the stage where the path through the leaves used to be, connect the 5 men and the pianist together, all flowing to a final point at the centre stage, just in front of where Shkeamus is stood, throughout the rest of the verse the men gradually start to move towards this final point, where as shape is beginning to form. During the final big note, the men are now stood around the centre point and the shape which has turned out to be a love heart, as the note progresses the men gradually raise an arm each, simultaneously raising the heart from the stage floor LED to the centre screen behind them. Halfway through the note Juno cuts out to sing a finishing backing line.

Overcome shunning,
And you’ll rise stunning.
Keep your head up high and you’ll feel the warmth,
Not just for now.
(You can once again feel proud.)

As the song ends the camera is now focused on the five men, stood near each other with their arms raised and shifts the focus from the men to the heart, which is now suspended in middle of the centre screen. The lights come back on as normal and the band members all wave and thank the audience for listening.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:24 pm

Tune: Sabina Ddumba - I Cry

Amongst the fire, a figure came in to sight, walking closer and closer to the end of the stage. It was Viv, who stopped in front of the audience and started to sing. She looked frozen, not moving at all. The only lights in the arena came from a spotlight focusing on her and the fire.

You think that you got rid of me?
All those many years ago, we split and we left on bad terms.
Never heard from me again,
I was hiding away, I felt so small in this wide world.

Finding the surface,
Finding where I'm meant to be
I am finding home, I'm finding my home.

She then got up from the floor and a man came from behind her and held on to her by putting his hand across her stomach. From what we could see, he did not have anything on top but was quite oiled. On the bottom half, he was wearing thai fisherman-esque black trousers . She turned her head on the other side of the direction of where the man's hand was facing towards. The chorus then came and as it did, the camera slowly moved back, moving past the flames.

Shouting loud,
I'm laying down my mark so you don't forget me.
I won't be forgotten
You can try,
To forgot me but always I'm there in your mind,
I won't be forgotten.

A group of these topless men then came on to the stage alongside the one that was already there. Viv Rumie broke free from the one she was holding on to and ran forward away from them. In the background, the men were doing tableaux, almost recreating someone trying to "surface". An example of a tableau the topless men did involved one of the men being lifted in to the air by two other men - but two more were trying to bring him down. Then then transitioned in to another tableau of another man holding out towards Viv, but the four others held him back.

I don't have time to play your games,
I have moved on from you, don't you think I've returned for you.
I have returned for my own sake, I needed to find solace,
And it is here where I would find that, yeah...

Finding the surface,
Finding where I'm meant to be
I am finding home, I'm finding my home.

Viv Rumie carried on singing where she was, on the floor near a pot of fire. The camera slowly moved from behind the bottom and slowly above, with the flames passing by her face. The camera then went over her as the group of men, in slow motion, moved forwards towards Viv Rumie. By the end of the upcoming chorus, she was 'captured' by the men.

Shouting loud,
I'm laying down my mark so you don't forget me.
I won't be forgotten
You can try,
To forgot me but always I'm there in your mind,
I won't be forgotten.
(ohhhh, ohhh, you try)
(ohhhh, ohhh, forgotten, forgotten)

Fire came from every corner of the stage as the group of men carried her down the stage steps right in front of the stage and put her down. She sang the last bit of the bridge section on the floor, looking down at it before looking up to meet a camera which zoomed out.

Out from nowhere I've returned,
Take back what I've earnt,
Take back what's be taken from me.

The men in the back danced along with the beat, moving side to side - almost as though they were exaggeratedly doing a soldier march on the spot. The moved their heads from the left to the side every two beats - with the camera shots changing every two beats also. The two furthest men hit on the drums they were wearing around their bodies.

Shouting loud,
I'm laying down my mark so you don't forget me.
I won't be forgotten
You can try,
To forgot me but always I'm there in your mind,
I won't be forgotten.
(ohhhh, ohhh, you try, you try)
(ohhhh, ohhh, forgotten, you try)
Shouting loud,
I'm laying down my mark so you don't forget me.
I won't be forgotten

The men then walked off the stage one by one, ultimately leaving Viv on the stage by herself. The audience cheered and she got up. Viv Rumie twirled and bowed before blowing a kiss to the audience, "Thank you, everybody - I appreciate the hospitality!" Viv Rumie then ran off the stage in happiness.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:27 pm

Tune: The Humans - Goodbye

Esther Winterbourne, Llaltese representative for the World Hit Festival and WorldVision 68

After an extremely successful WorldVision 65, which defied the expectations of the whole world, the LBN were destined to return for WorldVision 66. However, disaster struck. Llalta was disqualified from the competition. Esther's, the singer for WorldVision, dreams were broken and it broke Llalta's good reputation. People were distraught, some were angry. However, Esther and Llalta have since gotten up from the fall, and wants to go for first in the World Hit Festival, where Llalta will debut, with "Free" sung by Esther Winterbourne, soon to be Llaltese representative in WorldVision 67.

Esther Winterbourne is 22 year old Llaltese shop keeper and singer-song writer in her spare time. Though her singing career is only a hobby, she still has many gigs in Llalta and is a famous idol there. Born in St. Christopher ~~as if there is anywhere else in Llalta to be born~~, she grew into a normal family. She only found out she had a thing for music was in her second school play, where she played Mary in the Nativity. She has since written songs and performed in pubs, but never on the World stage. By entering into the World Hit Festival, she wants to show the world that: even though Llalta is small and not always perfect, they should never be underrated in the World.

As the postcard ends, the arena is darkened. Silence descends on the audience. A single, lone spotlight falls onto Esther, playing a sleek, black piano, lid opened, on a matching stool placed on the satellite stage. She has a mike around her face rather than a held mike. She wears a simple black dress, which flows elegantly to her black ballet pumps. Her hair is darker and longer than usual, which is down. Some may even notice that she is wearing a necklace with a small golden moon, which hangs down under her neck. The camera, moves around her slowly, however it is from the perspective of those watching in the audience who are in the front row. She begins to sing.

Why
Be someone else
Why try
To change who you are
Why hide
Your true self
And live a corpse

As the second section begins, a spotlight pops up on what looks like a black silhouette, wearing a black spandex full body suit and a white mask covered with colourful zig zags, stripes and stars. The figure stands still, facing Esther. Before long, four other spotlights appear slowly, eventually lighting up various other silhouettes, identical to the first figure. Though scattered around the stage, they all stare at Esther, still like a statue. However, she is oblivious to them, still playing the piano and singing. The camera pans around the arena, showing each figure before switching to the next. Before taking a wider shot from the front-right of the stage, showing all the performers.

Why be you
When you can be and live a factory fake
But I can't stay silent
No one can make me something else
And they may try
They'll never win
I'll show them how
We'll be free

As she sings the long note, she climbs up onto the stool and shuts her eyes. White lights from the back of the stage rise upwards. As the instrumental begins, white spotlights manically light up on and off, however slow enough that it isn't won't cause epilepsy. LEDs splashes of different colour paints. The camera does a short above view, showing the figures running to the piano, where they gather round and reach out to her. She climbs onto the lid of the piano, which is propped up, facing diagonally towards the audience. Whilst the lights all fall onto the satellite stage where the action is happening. She the rips off her elegant black dress, which flutters away, revealing a white dress, which goes down to the shins, with the skirt area made up of feathers of all different colours in a pastel shade. Her hair is flying in the wind dramatically and her dress is majestic in the gust.

She then proceeds to sing on the lid of the piano. As the first line is sung, the camera changes view to under the piano, where one of the figures is underneath the piano, the patterns on their mask illuminating in the dark, to show a somewhat creepy 'monster'. As the next line is sung, Esther, along with the figures all face diagonally towards the audience, hands shielding their eyes as if they are looking for something. As she sings about space, she bends down, and shakes the hand of one of the silhouettes, who by now are all looking up at her. She sings the final line before turning around, arms stretched and falls backwards off the lid of the piano. The arena turns pitch black.

Why not fight the beast that lays beneath your musty bed
Travel the whole wide world in under 80 goddamn days
Be the first to meet martians in a nearby galaxy
Be no-one but yourself and don't back down no matter what

The music carries on over the gasps and mutters of the audience. It is dark. However, the glow in the patterns on the masks are all illuminated, and it is clear that they are all in a circle facing inwards. Then, a torch beneath Esther's face lights it up and she continues to sing into the camera, which slowly zooms into her face, until she says "Why?", where the camera's view turns black.

Why
Be someone else
Someone but you
Why?

Bright lights fill the arena again. As she sings the long notes, the lights go back to manic flashing, and the LEDs back to the splattered paint. Different coloured smoke erupt from the stage from red to blue. She is lifted by the figures into the air, her arms held out. During the second "why", she is thrown into the air before being caught again. The white lights flash on and off to the beat just before the last chorus.

Why?
Why?

White and red lights flash and the LEDs are decorated with black and white clips of famous speeches and crowds, all with themes related to "standing out". As the chorus begins, she sings, looking at each figure that surround her, addressing them. The smoke disappears before she starts singing again, but they are replaced by golden sparks raining from the ceiling. Esther tries to run forward but is held back from the silhouettes who hold her back. She falls backwards and is pulled from side to side by them, like a game of tug of war. On the third line she breaks free as the figures slowly crowd around her, but she closes her ears and eyes. The camera zooms in to her face and blackens, before panning across the stage, Esther singing towards the camera whilst the five figures have taken off their masks and spandex, revealing two women and three men, all in mid twenties to mid thirties. The women are wearing simple and elegant dresses similar in design to Esther's first dress. However, one is white with multicoloured roses embellishing the skirt whilst the other a sky blue coloured, with origami birds decorating the upper half. Their hair is down. The men on the other hand are wearing suits; one jade, one deep blue and the other red. On the final line, they walk towards Esther, putting their hands on her shoulder. The final shot is from the front of the satellite stage, Esther reaching her hand out to the camera.

Why not be the one to end wars, give peace to all the world
Climb every beanstalk to slay the giants that attack the Earth
Don't trust in all the lies, close your ears and sing this song
Show the world who you are and don't hold back until you're free

The song ends with a flash of light. Esther steps forward and bows to the cheering audience. "Thank you W-World" She says, walking offstage with the other dancers, Esther sobbing of happiness into her palms.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:31 pm

Tune: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - ''Somewhere Over the Rainbow''

LT representing Cleaca in the 40th World Hit Festival

Lamar Taufatofua, more commonly known by his initials LT is a 24-year old Togoni-Cleacan native folk musician. Born in Kalzan, Togonistan, his mother was from Cleaca while his father was a native Togoni. Born in a simple working-class family, Lamar started his career as a simple street musician and worked his way up from there. One could say that he is a prime example of making your own success. LT has never been backed by any of the big record label companies, yet has created his own niche audience and fanbase both in Togonistan as well as overseas.

By his personality, LT has always considered himself to be a free spirit. This can be proven by a fact that about two years ago, he decided to temporarily cut any ties with his ongoing projects and go on a trip around the world's beautiful places. During his travels, having nothing but a guitar and a backpack with him, he eventually found himself in Cosneolta, where he got really close to a local girl. Soon, the feelings between these two started to flame and Lamar spent six months in Cosneolta, learning the local culture and language. During his time there, he wrote many songs about his experiences in the small nation, one of which will be heard in Mousiki tonight. While we are still yet to discover who is this mysterious someone that found her place in LT's song, one thing is certain: his time in Cosneolta has paid off, as he is singing the song in their native language.

Performance:

For the performance, LT decided to go for a rather minimalistic staging. He can be seen sitting on a chair at the small island in the middle of the audience. LT is wearing a simple outfit consisting of a darkish red-blue-green color scheme, blue jeans and a pair of brown boots (same outfit that can be seen on the picture above). He also has his guitar with him, which is decorated with various stickers of either country flags or some national symbols from nations he has been in. A microphone, attached to a stand in front of him, is lowered to the level of his mouth. LT starts playing his guitar while humming at the same time.

[Humming]

Stage lighting is dark, and the audience around him is slowly waving light sticks. On the background LED screen of the main stage, some videos taken from various locations in Cosneolta are being played on a small window with a grunge effect added to them. These are supposed to represent his memories of the time spent there. LT starts singing his first verses of the song.

Kaugel Cosneoltas
Kohtusid
Kohalik tüdruk ja kaugelt tulnud polüneesia mees
Haha-yeehoo

Kaugel Cosneoltas
Tundsin siis
Seda tunnet mis eales ei unune, see põles mu sees
Hu-hu-huu

Background screen starts displaying a video taken in a park in Cosneolta. It shows a young man and a woman sitting on the grass, having a picnic. Camera starts rotating around LT as he is sitting, playing his guitar and singing.

Jalutades neis parkides
Nähes sinu naeratust ja sära su silmades
Kuis omas tempos marssides
Tegime tiiru peale tervele linnale

Background starts displaying a video of a sky.

Kaugel Cosneoltas
Tundsin siis
Seda tunnet mis eales ei unune, see põles mu sees
Hu-hu-huu

LT closes his eyes as he starts singing the final verse of his song. On the background, video shows a man and a woman from the back. They are holding hands as they're walking down a small park road.

Me endi päevi veetsime
Nii et igast tühjast tähjast me rääkisime
Puu all jutte vestsime
Kuniks saabus lõpuks hilisöö, teineteisele

Kaugel Cosneoltas
Tundsin siis
Seda tunnet mis eales ei unune, see põles mu sees
Hu-hu-huu

LT, having his eyes still closed, starts nodding his head a bit as he hums the final part of his song.

[Humming]

Lamar opens his eyes and looks into the camer taking a close-up shot of him. He smiles as the audience starts cheering for him. ''Thank you Mousiki. Have a wonderful evening,'' he says before standing up and leaving the stage.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:35 pm

Translation: Hurts
Tune: Holding a Star in My Heart — IU

Arum Dawoh is another rising celebrity just trying to make it on this bitch of an earth. She might not be nationally famous just yet but she's getting there, having performed at televised morning concerts that no one really watches beyond villagers with no better use of their time. But that is something, and that something is leading her to her international debut.
TVRF enlisted professional songwriters that are good at writing ballads (so basically just typical Fromulyan songwriters) to compose and produce Arum's entry. And here we are.

Kaulah pria di dalam hidupku ini
Yang pernah mencerahkan hariku
Kau kekasih yang terus melengkapiku
Sampai kau buat ruang hampa

Kenapa kau meninggalkanku
Dalam kegelapan ini?
Kenapa kamu sia-siakan
Kesempatan kedua?

Dalam segala caramu, aku bertahan
Meski pikiranku berkata lain
Ku melihatmu menyerah begitu saja
Meski hatiku inginkan yang lain

Kenapa kau meninggalkanku
Dalam kegelapan ini?
Kenapa kamu sia-siakan
Kesempatan kedua?

As the music calms down, the lights dim. But in that last line, Arum Dawoh lets it all out and produces one of the most stunning notes in this edition's WHF.

Lalu setelah semua usahaku
Kau hanya diam saja
Tanpa belas kasihan
Hatiku ini sakit

While she holds the note, you can hear the backing singers sing their only part in the song.

(Sungguh kejam dia)
(Memainkan kasih sayangmu)
(Semoga dia sadar)

Back to the chorus.

Kenapa kau meninggalkanku
Dalam kegelapan ini?
Kenapa kamu sia-siakan
Kesempatan kedua?

Hatiku tersakiti

And that's a wrap from Fromulya! Wonderful, the crowd cheered especially in ballad-loving Izmedu and Arum Dawoh could only wave and bow, overwhelmed by an international prestigious audience that is so different from the small paid audiences back home that she is used to.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:38 pm

Translation: The Clock Face Shatters
Tune: Hyphen Hyphen - Just Need Your Love

NNN were positively shocked. They had never expected 2nd, the countries best result since WV32. It was a wonderful surprise, but they weren't going to let it get to their head like they had in the past (and indeed like they had in WorldVision). They would just end up keeping fresh, up and coming Normand acts with good music, and the results would either come or they wouldn't. At least, that's what they told themselves. After the afterparty, countless glasses of champagne and self-congratulation, that is. Anyone would've fought they had won. But they hadn't, nor where they ultimately going to kid themselves that they had. Still, the WHF Office had had a good night.

It obviously seemed as if NNN had stumbled onto a formula that worked, although that's been generous as Julie had only been their second choice. Still, Jean Le Havre, head of delegation, decided to go through the same process again, as it had delivered a result whilst at the same time being able to showcase modern, Normand music. A rigorous search began. Meetings with all of the major record labels were a given, and went surprisingly well as they began to realise that WHF might be a good platform on which to showcase some of their less well-known talent, and perhaps even help them get their break. An open submission period also took place, the quality of songs from which was unsurprisingly mixed, from the frankly bizarre to the brilliant. Once again, members of the Normand WHF fan club, a Normand professional jury of musicians and industry experts and a 'people's jury' made up of volunteers were used to help whittle down the songs to eventually have one which would represent Normandy and Picardy. Again this was tried and tested, as the juries had indeed ranked Julie last contest.

Ultimately the winner of the internal selection was revealed to be the relatively unknown group L’étrangère, headed by Marie La Comte, alongside songwriters Elio Armerie and Olivier Chalemet. The three met whilst studying at the University of Le Havre, but went their seperate ways before deciding to start writing music. At first it was just, as Elio said in a rare interview (Elio and Olivier don't often talk to the media or even take part in stage performances), messing about, but somehow they wound up being signed to a music label with a small but loyal fan base, touring small festivals. They had been put forward by the record label, and well... here we are now.

L’étrangère, or at least Marie, told journalists and fans at the song reveal that this song, which is from their upcoming concept album 'La Vie est Nulle' which depicts the lives of a number of characters, is about a woman who had everything but has now been reduced to not being able to escape from her desperate situation. Some have taken the song to be a criticism of modern free market capitalism itself and how it can destroy people, but Marie herself has not said anything on the matter. The title of the song, Le cadran casse, is rather unusual, but as Marie has said it is a reference to the fact that a smashed watch or clock will often be stuck on the same time, suggesting that the woman's time has run out, and indeed that she is stuck in her situation; she can't escape because there's nowhere she can go. Some, although not the band, have gone one step further and said it is a reference to the fact that sometimes in crime programmes a smashed watch is used to determine the time at which a person was murdered. Death is certainly a final end, and at the same time is reflected in the rest of the lyrics, as if the woman doesn't even feel alive or want to live anymore such is her circumstance.

That message would now be being broadcast live from Mousiki, Izmedu as part of the 40th World Hit Festival. True to their usual form, Olivier and Elio decided they would not perform on stage, but they accompanied Marie to Mousiki, and made it clear they would be in the Majecna Foruma on the night cheering her on. And there they were as the postcard played, and Marie walked onto the stage. This was it. It was now or never...

***DISCLAIMER***
I do not pretend to be good at French, and thus any mistakes and weird phrasings are simply caused by my ignorance. Please let me know if there's anything major, and I'll try and learn from it in future.

Also, please bear in mind I've exercised a bit of artistic licence with the translation.

As the postcard ended, Marie laid, nervous, waiting for it all to begin. Everything had led up to this, three and a half glorious minutes in front of millions of people across the multiverse. The weight of the expectation of an entire nation was heavy on her shoulders, be she knew she could do it. And so, she let herself be taken away in the moment. The song began. Piano chords. Marie was laid on the front platform section of the stage where the two walkways met, the camera feed going across the multiverse looking down at her dressed in simple black clothes, tight but not anything over-the top (but at the same time not atrociously casual. Think Madame Monsieur). Behind her, the image of a clock face (as referenced in the title of the song) flickered into life, it's white pearly face illuminating the entire stadium before it was plunged into darkness when the image disappeared. Just before Marie began to sing, the image stabilised and the minute hand began to tick around the clock. The camera above Marie had, as the song began, zoomed in slowly on her, such that as she began to sing only the top half of her could be seen.

Dans le silence de la nuit
À la gare, j'ai envie
De vomir, pour courir
Je me confronte au pire

The camera panned out again, as a series of lights begin to turn on and off, highlighting Marie from an assortment of directions with a slightly golden hue. The ambient lighting of the stadium gained intensity, with the same sort of golden hue. The camera view suddenly cut to the main stage, where a heart was shown beating but with cogs and gears turning in it, which ground to a halt before the image seemed to merge and fall down in a wave which spread over the LED floors and screens, washing away the gold temporarily. (In the stadium it had been shown on the two side screens creating by closing the thingymabobs, but only one of them was shown by the cameras).

Je me suis endormais trop longtemps sur mes lauriers
Avant que je ne sois parvenue au fond de mon cœur

As the camera feed changed again to show Marie, this wave passed over her as shown in the sudden line of red lighting which washed over her, and the fact that the clock behind her was obscured for a moment. Marie carried on singing whilst reaching out to the cameras, her facial expressions almost giving a sense of desperation. Don't worry, she wasn't wishing she wasn't on stage, it's all character (we promise)! The cameras gave a series of panning shots which focused on Marie as, around the clock, a series of rings began to pulsate, as if building up to something.

A l'instant je suis perdue, ça se gâte maintenant
Les cartes sont blanches et j’appartiens au monde
Je peux essayer mais je suis encore ici
Ces billets se lit comme promesses rompues

The lighting in the stadium suddenly died down as the prechorus began, and a faint spotlight shined down on Marie. Throughout the prechorus, this spotlight appeared to split up, almost beginning to form a cage around Marie. Meanwhile, the camera gave a sideways shot to show Marie reaching up towards the sky, as shown by the LED screens at the top of the arena. Those LED screens showed a series of clouds with bright blue and golden yellow trying to burst through, as if both Marie and the sky were trying to escape. The clock hands beneath continued to tick as they had, getting closer and closer to 12 midnight (presuming the clock had started at 12 noon).

C'est un petit pas, mais il sent trop géant
Et les marches attrapent au ciel, en haut
Je suis en bas de l'échelle, de l'affiche
Je reste de justesse à la surface
It’s only a small step, but it feels enormous
And the stairs reach for the sky, to the top
And I’m at the bottom of this ladder, of the billing
And I’m only just staying afloat

How I long to be free, how I long to
To feel like me, just for a moment in time
But I can't keep running when I-I-I never ran from the start

The hands reached twelve as the chorus began, and the clock face suddenly shattered like glass, with shards suddenly going everywhere. The cage lifted in the same moment, and along with the shards there was a sudden increase in the intensity of the lights, as the screens again filled with a full, golden glow, almost mocking the character of the song who has nothing. A hand appeared to reach up through the shards of the clock, and with the fun Izmeduan hologram technology which Izmedu has kindly provided (even though they have no money to do so), a hand appeared to reach out from the floor and envelope Marie, trying to drag her below. The camera view then gave a series of panoramic shots of the stage where on the background screens the shards flew about, some appearing for a few seconds and fading again thanks to the hologram technology. A series of searchlight-esque lights searched around the Arena, as if looking for Marie.

Le cadran casse
Ça m'use le cœur
Et ça m'use le cœur
Ça m'use le cœur

Et le soleil se couche
Donc je danse chez
Je danse chez mes cauchemars
Je danse chez mes cauche…

Everything calmed down again as the next verse begin. The searchlights stopped searching, the shards faded into the general ambient lighting/imagery, whilst gears and clock mechanism, or at least their outlines, appeared once more. The camera zoomed in from above the audience to the main stage where Marie now stood on one side of a pane of glass, whilst on the other side there was a woman who looked very much like Marie, except much older. Marie looked in, as if looking through a window, as the other Marie struggled to get up.

Nul de chez nul, j'étais dans un monde à moi
Je faisais illusion pour un peu, avant je suis tombée
À présent je suis bloqué, vivre en sursis
J’aurais essayé de s'enfuir, mais je finis toujours ici

The other Marie, finally reaching up, began to mirror all of Marie's mannerisms and movements to the beat of the song as she reached out to the camera circuling around them, going from Marie's side to the woman's, showing both of them from the others perspective, Marie still looking vibrant and youthful, whereas the woman looked old and weary. As the camera came back around to Marie's hand, she put her hand to the mirror and so did the old woman. Due to some fun camera tricks, Marie's face overlapped the woman's, such that it properly looked like she was looking at herself in a mirror, which caused her to stagger back.

Reaching for a light that’s always off
Imagining’s all I’ve got now that I’m blind
Digging into the dirt feels like reaching up-up-up
Let the rain pour on me so I can feel

As the chorus began again, the clock mechanisms and what not broke apart and again where replaced by the shards. The camera had been placed such that is what behind Marie's shoulder, showing her 'reflection' in the mirror, when the chorus began, and now Marie appeared to be dragged back behind the camera. The camera then turned around to show Marie indeed being dragged back by two male dancers, both young and good looking (I'll leave the rest to yourselves, I know what some people taking part in this contest are like). Marie seemed completely powerless, before trying to escape. (At this point, the vocals were mostly being carried by hidden backing vocalists).

Le cadran casse
Ça m'use le cœur
Et ça m'use le cœur
Ça m'use le cœur

The lights dimmed once again, and the two male dancers disappeared into the darkness as, eventually, Marie was left alone under a golden spotlight in the centre of the stage. The camera slowly panned around her, moving in a upwards diagonal from the left, as she almost appeared to try to hold on to the camera, as if it was the last thing she owned (and she didn't even own the camera, obviously, which was RTI's). However, as she sung the last line of the bridge, she was suddenly dragged into the darkness herself.

Le soleil se couche
Je danse chez mes cauche…
Je danse chez mes cauche…
Je danse chez mes cauche…
Mes cauchemars, mes cauchemars, mes cauchemars, mes cauchemars

As the final chorus began, there was a sudden flash of light which spread out from the back of the stage, a wave of gold and again the fragments of the clock face spreading out across the screens and the LED floor. Once again Marie was trapped with the two male dancers, representing the endless search for perfection, money and good lucks which presumably led the woman in this song to her fate (which is explained in one of the other songs in the album). At first she appears to be caught in some sort of tug of war between them (ie. she is the rope), leaning from side to side. Then, she tried to escape, but they pulled her back. The two proceeded to dance around her as the camera gave long, panoramic shots of the stage mixed with tight shots of Marie.

And so I shatter (I shatter)
A million pieces
A thousand shades of pain (of pain, of pain)
Le cadran casse (C’est cassé, c’est cassé)

And so the sun sets (the sun sets)
So I dance with the night (with the night, ooh)
With all the shadows (the shadows, the shadows)
Chez mes cauchemars (mes cauchemars, mes cauchemars, mes cauchemars)

All the light in the stadium seemed to recede as the song began to come to a close, ending up in a point beneath where Marie was stood. She bent down as if to pick it up (she herself was still lit by a faint spotlight), but as she sung the last line, it dissipated away.

Le cadran casse

With that it was done. The lights in the stadium returned to normal, whilst Marie shouted 'Merci Mousiki! Merci, Merci!', whilst making way for the stage crew, as preparations for the next act begun.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:42 pm

Transcription: Dozhdlivyy Sezon
Translation: Rainy Season
Tune: Northern Assembly - Death Won't You Marry Me

Few months ago the national broadcaster of Rusmailica informed that the internal selection for the 40th World Hit Festival in Mousiki had been won by the male-female quatro that consists of 29-year-old Nidija Janka, a former member of the famous Folkandish gospel group Likaon, and three members of The Cinnamon Stores - brothers Ante, Reszko and Gosza Niczyporuk. The four young artists prepared a lot to do their best at the Izmeduan stage in July. Their ballad "Дождливый Cезон" reached the hit status and has been played in many Folkandish radio stations.

The main stage is illuminated by the weak silver light that is surrounded by complete darkness. Above the musician there are cords of lanterns and black and white photos. Nidija wears a louse flowery dress and the big colourful wreath. The members of The Cinnamon Stores wears blue jeans and checkered shirts. The LED screen behind them reminds a window that is "bombarded" by raindrops. Nidija sitting by the wooden piano starts playing the first chords and sings. Ante is standing by her playing the acoustic guitar. Reszko and Gosza seems to be a background for them.

Дождливый сезон в нас
Но я прошу за сухой час
Xочу видеть твой синий глаз
За каплями воды

Oт лица смыл твой цвет
Я ищу солнце в черно-белом сне
Hе знаю что произошло
Это вопрос погоды

And then Ante joins Nidija singing the chorus. They act as if they are in love. The rain on the screen change its color from silver to golden however the light is still weak.

Хотя любовь - дитя солнца
Hевозможно расти без дождя
Kогда-нибудь облака уйдут
Будем ждать, будем ждать

The rain disappears out of the LED screen. Now we can see the black and white motion picture of the streets and people passing through with their umbrellas. The light is brighter now. We can see the whole stage. The pair of singers are coming to the following verses.

The rain washed our streets away
There's no hope for a sunny day
Umbrella shops may have a luck
We cannot change the weather
Дождливый сезон в нас

Now the LED screen is portraying the rising sun. It is illuminating the stage with a wide golden and white light. The singers seems to sing with more passion in their voice. It is definitely one of the strongest parts in this song.

Хотя любовь - дитя солнца
Hевозможно расти без дождя
Kогда-нибудь облака уйдут
Будем ждать, будем ждать

The LED screen is turning completely dark. The camera is focusing on the couple of singers that look into each other's eyes.

The rain in you, in me
These raindrops mixed with our own tears

И дождь в тебe, во мне,
И капли проникли в слезы

Ten deszcz w tobie, we mnie
Z kroplami które kryją łzy

The LED screen now shows the black and white photos of different couples in love, children, friends, elderly people, people with pets and so on. They are changing like a carousel.

Bo grunt ma dość tych susz
Nie zrodzi nic gdy wody nul

Więc gość, od gór po las
Poro deszczowa w nas

The last slide shows the collage of all the photos that is moved away and it turned out to be the raindrop. This raindrop finally falls down on the floor and evokes the white flashlight at the end. All the musicians stand up, catch each other's hands and bow towards the audience.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:44 pm

Tune: Alexander Rybak - That's How You Write A Song

Martinique von Cooch was just beginning to make a name for herself in Lactatia. After filming several softcore pornographic films, Martinique decided that she wanted to take a quick break from the stress of the pornographic film industry and try her hand at music. As soon as she vocalized her desire for participating at the World Hit Festival, the head of the Lactatian Radio and Television, Christopher CumDumpster, immediately selected her to represent the nation, without feeling the need to hire any professional training for her whatsoever. Martinique was to make her nation proud with the song she composed while taking a shit that lasted a surprisingly long time, even with the laxatives she had been prescribed.

Martinique was on stage, wearing her trademark Wonder Woman outfit, and was walking in no particular direction, when a voice from an elderly African-American woman erupted from the speakers.

"Hi Martinique,
I would like to suck a dick, but I am a little shy because I do not know how to start. Do you have any advice?"

When the instrumental played, Martinique looked at the camera, nodded, and winked

. She moved her hand in a stroking motion, where camera effects would insert a white crudely-drawn erect penis where her hand was, which would move and such as if it was really there. Then she would walk around the stage, her hands by her side, and more effects would make it so there would be dozens of erect penises standing up from the stage floor, all ejaculating at various times. Of course, it was all an animation made possible by special effects, so there was no need to blur out any of them. At least, not as far as Lactatia was concerned. The first note Martinique sang was cut short due to her having to cough halfway through.

Ooooh ye-

If you got a sexond,
Listen to me now
It'll make you want to
Suck and then swallow

Who knows... how big it is
but honey, make it quick
Just finish your man
That's how you suck a dick

The instrumental played, and the camera showed members of the audience, all confused, looking at each other in bewilderment. It quickly panned to a toddler child who was crying and whose ears were being shielded from a concerned parent.

Don't worry if it's flaccid
In time it will get big.
Gotta swallow your pride
Your pride is pearly white

You know, you gotta suck it
You got this baby
Just work your magic
And suck this dick with me

With the chorus, Martinique would hold out her pointer finger, signaling 'one', then proceed to stroke the dicks that appeared on the camera screen. Then she held out two fingers and sucked the semen that oozed out of the animated penises that appeared on the screen.

Step one;
just grab it, and stroke it all day long
Step two;
you suck him dry
And that's how you suck a schlong

Many people would wander onstage, all wearing skin-tight black leotards. They looked lost, as if none of them have any idea how they got on stage. Martinique would make gagging and choking noises that I honestly have no idea how to translate into text because they were just that intense, and the people on stage would follow suit.

Sing!
(Intense gagging noises)
(Intense gagging noises)
(Choking noises)
(Choking noises)
Say suck that schlong!
Suck that schlong!
I'm gonna suck his dong

(Aggresive moaning)
(Aggresive moaning)
(Orgasm sounds)
(Orgasm sounds)
Say suck that schlong!
Suck that schlong!
I'm gonna suck your dong

The people on stage would plead to the cameras and to the members of the audience to help them, but most people thought of it as part of the act, so they were quickly disregarded.

Step one;
just grab it, and stroke it all day long
Step two;
you suck him dry
And that's how you suck a schlong

Step one;
just grab it, and stroke it all day long
Step two;
you suck him dry
And that's how you suck a schlong

For the instrumental break, Martinique would grind on various members on stage, all who looked either offended or disgusted by this. One member was shown to be wearing a shock collar, and was shocked when he tried to shove Martinique off of him.

Step one;
just grab it, and stroke it all day long
Step two;
you suck him dry
And that's how you suck a schlong

Step one;
just grab it, and stroke it all day long
Step two;
you suck him dry
And that's how you suck a schlong

Step one;
just grab it, and stroke it all day long
Step two;
you suck him dry
And that's how you suck a schlong

Step one;
just grab it, and stroke it all day long
Step two;
you suck him dry
And that's how you suck a schlong

And that's how you suck a schlong

And that's how you suck a schlong

"Thank you!" Martinique shouted, before exiting the stage. The other dancers collapsed into an exhausted heap on stage.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:53 pm

Translation: One More Day?
Tune: John Lundvik -My Turn

NOTE: This song on suicide is (or at least trying to be) about self-strength. The user behind this entry hasn't lost anyone to suicide nor has tried it as of typing, but he has a family member who tried and it failed. The person in mind still lives today. If you feel like you want to end your life and need someone to talk about, please go here!

"Why?". That was his thoughts. One of his best friends has just "got to sleep and will not wake up ever again". This is a reflection of the sad truth that Darkmania have one of the highest suicide rates among all Worlvision/World Hit Festival contestants. And it sadly rising. Something has to be done. Along the "YourLiveMatter" foundation who has adopted it as a campaign song for the "#MyLiveMatter", a campaign to combat the rising suicides rates, the last time's host of the WHF bring this.... errr... special song.

Torbjørn is alone on the dark stage. His clothing is a bit tore up and dirty. It's only him, a piano and an idiot Steadicam operator who is ruining the pre-song shots by littery standing in the middle of the opening shot where a camera crane "flies" over the audience and to the left side of the stage. The main stage part is mostly used, with the island not being used at all. The backround is mainly just gray and black. Kinda boring, but it gives a dark feel.

Torbjørn begins to play the piano chords to the song, as the idiot steady cam operator slowly moves from the front of the piano to behind Torbjørn as he sings. When the shot is done after the third line, a fading transition to the next shoot acors.

Her er en kniv
(Here is a knife)

Bruk`n på deg
(Use`t on you)

Du bør dø
(You shall die)

He is still at his piano and he will be at his piano for a long time. He is more focued on his the keys than to look at a steady cams that slowly goes around him.

Din drittsekk
(Your bastard)

Ingen vil være din venn med deg
(No one wants to be friends with you)

Pell vekk til graven din
(Eff of your grave)

Jævla duster som deg bør dø
(Effing idiots like you must die)

The spotlight begins to go away from him.

Så forklar meg
(So explain me)

Hvorfor sier at du er sterk?
(Why do you say that you are strong?)

Du vet at ingen bør røre en bakterie som deg
(You know that no one wants to touch a bacteria like you)

Jeg klarer ikke synet av deg
(I cant handle the sight of you)

Folk tar din kraft
(People take away your strehgntt)

Og vilijen til liv
(And the will to live)

En dag til?
(One more day?)

Torbjørn takes away his microphone from the stand he used doing his piano. Still alone, and mostly just standing at the same place. He doesn't look at the camera at the moment.

Pistol
(Gun)

Sikt på hode
(Aim on head)

Trekk sikringen up
(Pull the)

Og gjør klar
(And get ready)

A slow-moving steady cam slowly goes behind Torbjørn while he sings. He doent notice it.

Din drittsekk
(Your bastard)

Ingen vil være din venn med deg
(No one wants to be friends with you)

Pell vekk til graven din
(Eff of your grave)

Jævla duster som deg bør dø
(Fucking idiots like you must die)

Så forklar meg
(So explain me)

Hvorfor sier at du er sterk?
(Why do you say that you are strong?)

Du vet at ingen bør røre en bakterie som deg
(You know that no one wants to touch a bacteria like you)

Jeg klarer ikke synet av deg
(I cant handle the sight of you)

Folk tar din kraft
(People take away your strehgntt)

Og vilijen til liv
(And the will to live)

En dag til?
(One more day?)

Torbjørn with his mic on his left-hand tries to cover his face with his right hand.

Jeg vet at jeg er liten og svak
(I know that i am small and weak)

Men jeg har styrke og
(But i have the strenght)

Ingen skal styre mitt skip jeg styrer selv
(No one shall steer my ship that i steer my self)

Jeg skal fjerne djevlene fra mitt liv
(I shall remove the devils from my life)

As the backround

Folk tar din kraft
(People take away your strehgntt)

Og vilijen til liv
(And the will to live)

En dag til?
(One more day?)

Two offstage backup singers come out of the hidden sides that were only used for the back up singers. There is a goof where one of the ear-monitors falls of and is loose, but the back up singers fix this and this doesn't affect the entry hugely.

(Redd meg, Redd meg)
(Save me, Save me)

(Redd meg, Redd meg) Hvor er min hjelp?
(Save me, Save me) Where are my help?)

Torbjørn goes slowly to the edge of the main stage and the audience glows.

Hvor er min hjelp?
(Where are my help?)

Hjelp, Hjelp
(Help, Help)

(Redd meg, Redd meg)
(Save me, Save me)

(Redd meg, Redd meg) Nå?
(Save me, Save me) Now?)

The lights turn off and Torbjørn, on goes down on his knees looks up as a knife laying on the ground. A camera crane showing down on Torbjørn and the knife as Torbjørn tries to reach it, but only moving his hand. He is near the knife and barely touches it, but it seems like he does on transmission.

Her er en kniv
(Here is a knife)

Bruk`n på deg
(Use`t on you)

The lights swing away from Torbjørn as he rises up and sings the first line while a steadycam goes around him twice running and ends up with the same stand has he used at the begining. Oh... And the knife is gone for saftey.

Nååååååå
(Noooooow)

Så forklar meg
(So explain me)

Hvorfor sier at du er sterk?
(Why do you say that you are strong?)

Du vet at ingen bør røre en bakterie som deg
(You know that no one wants to touch a bacteria like you)

Jeg klarer ikke synet av deg
(I cant handle the sight of you)

Folk tar din kraft
(People take away your strengnt)

Og vilijen til liv
(And the will to live)

En dag til?
(One more day?)

A shot from the left behind side shows his "shadow" goes away. Its manly thanks clever use of the LED wall.

Jeg vet at jeg er liten og svak
(I know that i am small and weak)

Men jeg har styrke og
(But i have the strenght)

Ingen skal styre mitt skip jeg styrer selv
(No one shall steer my ship that i steer my self)

Jeg skal fjerne djevlene fra mitt liv
(I shall remove the devils from my life)

Pyrotechnic rain begins to rain on the stage and is the new background of the song. Torbjørn, who touches him self with "a crocked depressed hand like "Kill myself"",

Folk tar din kraft
(People take away your strehgntt)

Og vilijen til liv
(And the will to live)

En dag til?
(One more day?)

Dø
(Die)

Torbjørn almost begins to cry, but he fights as the audience gives a applause of his life. His best friend may be dead, but least the world has suffered the same pain as Torbjørn.

"Hvala, Izmedu!" "Tusen Takk!" Torbjørn thanks to the audience as he unplugs his ear monitors from his ears. A wave of sweaty, moist live audience induvutals gives a sound of applause that spread joy to a dark(mania) song. And yes, there are crying izmeduans ~~but that's just a Izmedu thing.~~

As Torbjørn walks ayay from the stage, the postcard to the next nation plays.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:01 pm

Translation: Purpose
Tune: Lost Frequencies & Netsky - Here With You

synsekai is a bit of a freeform collaborative project headed by Salyka Erakasna, the primary vocalist, and Haruto Rosenberg, songwriter and producer. First conceived in a workshop organized by the Tödlichebujoku-Daskoxyan Kavysyan Kystareyu program ("Todaskakys" for short) to introduce futuristic Daskoxyani artists with their modern/magical Tödlichebujoki counterparts, synsekai's first single "Valydai" (trans. "Destinations") became a surprise hit and charted in both nations, a surprising feat considering their relative lack of establishment. Therefore, synsekai was one of the top artists that the program's broadcaster TDKK desired to enlist in representing it in the World Hit Festival, which was appropriately once more in Izmedu. The Todaskakys flagship, the DKXN Ezara-Daily Apocalypse Forecast, was getting quite familiar with the view from orbit over Izmedu. How soon would the Festival return once more to the Dalmatian nation? The researchers, executives, and musicians onboard the ship have been waiting to find out.

Salyka stands on the outer stage platform, her light armorsuit being one that is highly ornamental and clearly aesthetic-focused, in shades of shining silver and matte black. She gazes out solemnly, with Haruto Rosenberg behind her, seated in a dark tunic and strumming a guitar. Fine holographic lights form fine golden lines that ripple through the otherwise dark arena

Koroke tozakojara
I walk a broken path

Ena votejyyra, vystoreya
Life is not a simple game, with one journey

Salyka's eyes are downcast, and she falls to her knees, clutching herself. The golden holographic lines reflect themselves off her armorsuit's silver highlights

Saruuvako avyyarta
Suffocating depression

Rezzekoyhorarta, arteyovara
Traps my passion, feels like death

She looks back up at the audience pleadingly, horror and despair dawning her eyes

Kofulyse koysekyovyyn
I hold my scarred heart

Rare zhanohosa, sareros koyfylai
Pulsing/bleeding black lava, flowing down my fingers

Koyenyka, vota
My state of living, is naught

Orange and red light physically ripples along a plane just above the audience's heads, corresponding to the beats of the percussion. Salyka rises, her voice rising in volume and emotion- desperation, perhaps? She faces the audience as if to plead

Tokystara voreyke,
A new beginning isn't coming,

Kayvalenu varu, nauarerynarte'a?
Our destiny's death, why do you still love?

Novarta u'vanta, nauarevoruuske'a?
Hope is an illusion, why do you not fall?

Kodanovosayde, vosaydezhasana
I truly don't understand, don't understand existence

Suddenly, Haruto dissolves into nothing but light, and then nothing but darkness

Ven koparevyyku
So I search for purpose

Thick concentric strings of orange, gold, tangerine, yellow, and coral light rise and fall meters above the audience, traveling in a rippling motion coming out from the stage, with the underlying crimson drumbeat ripples continuing to appear below

As the instrumental ends, the strings of gold and orange, tangerine and coral flatten out into vertical flexing concentric wall-like bars of lime and green at a similar level above the audience and the red drumbeats. Salyka now seems almost enraptured, taken by a vision, lost in a fantasy of security and belonging

Uare kysnaze na, kovote vovys
When I have a beautiful dream of you, I am not alone

Koyzhasovadai, vozze...
All my failures, are no more...

Vovyyrai, vovykai vyyakoi koyryn
No beliefs, no reasons, can convince my soul

Enu u'aro
[that] Life is joyous

Briefly, Haruto is seen playing an electric guitar that emits visible cyan and turquoise sound ribbons, before once more dissipating into light and darkness. Salyka turns to watch him as he plays, then turns back to the audience, crestfallen, as if having woken up from a fantastical dream to a nightmare reality. As the music builds up, the air flashes with a series of quickly expanding spheres of orange light centered on Salyka

Ven koparevyyku
So I search for purpose

The thick concentric strings of orange, tangerine, yellow, gold, and coral return, dancing over the audience above the deepening red drumbeat ripples. Salyka dances one of catharsis, as if the result of one turning painful writhing into an elegant dance, echoed by repeated holographic projections of herself on either side

Ven koparevyyku
So I search for purpose

Dya koparevyyku
And I search for purpose

As she sings her final line, she ceases her dance and returns to standing and facing the audience, a move echoed by her flanking copies. The line is sang with hope, a tone not clearly present in earlier iterations of her singing but now becoming quite evident as the colorful light bars fade away with the music, and with Salyka lit with only a few lights in the dark arena

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:05 pm

Transcription: Haengbokkam
Translation: Euphoria
Tune: VIXX - Shang Ri La and Ten - Dream In A Dream (Intro)

Having participated in last year's World Hit Festival, Ascion decided to enter the festival once again, with another group. The group's name is AJAX. It comprises of six members, Kris, Sungmin, Chen, Takao, Xiu, Kevin. They debuted this year under the management of UStone Music Entertainment, after having trained for 2 years. They were the final members selected through a vote by national viewers in a survival-reality show program called "Son of The Sun" in EMI channel of Ascion. They debuted in March 16th, 2045 with a song "Lock You" which immediately charted #1 in almost all online music platforms, and thousand views in NAVERTV.

The stage was completely dark. Soon, a group of back dancers walked to the stage and stopped in their own position. Their faces are faintly seen as it's completely dark; only the footsteps can be heard. The light slowly illuminating the stage, as well as the venue, with the LED screen showing a black background with AJAX logo slowly dimming. As the stage is getting bright, it can be seen the back dancers are wearing traditional clothes, holding a traditonal scarf while looking down at the main stage floor. Soon, flower petals slowly falling from above,and all the spotlight pointed to the center of the main stage A stage lift is rising with a guy standing on it; it's Xiu slowly rising from below the stage. As soon as the stage lift rises, the back dancers slowly lift their head. The stage lift stopped, and a song, titled "Dream" started to play, with the LED screen showing flower petals falling. The real flower petals are still faling from above--but it's only on the main stage.

As the song starts, the back dancers ran to their positions in every corner of the stage, covering the entire stage platform. The song, however, has no lyrics on it--it's purely made for an intro, thus having the entire song filled with traditional instruments and modern music instruments combined. Xiu danced slowly in the middle of flower petals rain, his dance moves seem to be very sharp, powerful, yet classy and elegant--the dance move is based on the traditional martial arts of Ascion. With the sound of the scarf being whipped multiple times, the performance somehow gives a chilling, yet amusing, soothing feeling to the audience.

Xiu and his backdancers danced for a couple of seconds--approximately 1 minute. As the song is going to an end, he ended the performance by slowly falling to the floor, forming a flower bud, and the back dancers also did the same. The song ended, and the back dancer ran to the backstage, the stage light slowly turned off, leaving only a single spotlight pointed at Xiu.

Soon, the members of AJAX came to the stage and spotlights immediately turned on, pointed at each member. The lights were slowly turning on again, and the LED screen showed a visual 3d graphic video of autumn trees. A smoke came out, covering half of their bodies. The song started to play, and they kept on a formation with Xiu and Takao sitting, Chen and Kevin in the middle facing each other, and Kris and Sungmin on the outer side of them, standing, with their hands pointing to the top with hand fans on their hand. They started to move in a single direction. The lights are blinking following the beat. The fans of AJAX, who came far away from Ascion cheered the name of each members as the song starts.

The camera focuses on Chen singing in the middle of a circle formation made by AJAX members. They moved their hand fans from the right to the left as the beat goes, as well as Chen. He rises from the middle to the front.

This place is so magical, everything about it feels like a dream

The formation changed with all of the members standing, forming a triangle with Takao in the back, covered by the members. As the verse changed, other members sit with Takao singing in the middle. The camera zoomed in.

Oh the two of us together would be so right
And we could fly away run into the wind

The formation changed again, and the members split their position and a spotlight pointed at Kevin. He sang a verse while walking to the front.

I’m drunk on you hey
Intoxicating feeling

Xiu moved to the front and sang his verse while playing with his hand fans. He looked a while to his hand fans and then stare at the audience in the most romantic stare.

I gotta let go gotta let go of reality
To a higher dimension where its just you and me

Takao moved to the front and sing, while the other members moved and stopped behind him with their hands out, forming a beautiful formation of hand fans.The spotlight pointed at them, while the other lights are dimmed, and smoke came out.

All night and day
I think of you

Xiu and Kevin moved, and the two sing in the front. The spotlight followed them both, and the other lights started turning on again, and blinked to the uplifting beats of the song.

I think of you
Cause you will always be on my mind

The group danced to the beat, in the most synchronised and clean choreography, with Chen in the center, singing to the verse as well as following the dance. Chen, Sungmin and Kevin rotated their position as each verse belongs to them. The colorful lights are blinking to the beat, with the LED screen showing an explosion of flower petals.

So where ever and whenever
I see the sun set and I think of you

It’s euphoria
I close my eyes and think of you softly

I’m so in-toc-toxicated
I don’t wanna ever wake up from this dream

Chen moved to the center while other members slowly walked back from their position to form a circling formation. The lights stopped blinking and slowly shine the stage again. The LED screen came back to the flower petal rain graphics again.

I think of you
Baby your all I want too

All the members turned their back, while Xiu is the only one facing the audience, singing to his verse. The spotlights are pointed at him.

When I ask how you been lately
Your alter ego acts so jealous

Xiu turned his back, and Takao turned to face the audience, while singing and walking to the left, with spoptlights following his move. As he walks passing each members, the members slowly turned to the front.

Your sweet lips just dazzle in moonlight
So hypnotizing mesmerizing euphoria

All the members moved to the back and formed a triangle, with Kris in the center and he started rapping to his own verse. The LED screen showed a tunnel like-graphic video with colorful petals surrounding it. Smoke came out, covering Kris and other member's feet.

I wake up in the morning and put you on repeat
You're on my brain all day like sweetness on a peach
The sound of your breathe is so addictive
I’m living in a dream world no limits

Takao moved to the front and sing, while the other members moved and stopped behind him with their hands out, forming a beautiful formation of hand fans.The spotlight pointed at them, while the other lights are dimmed, and smoke came out.

All night and day
I think of you

Xiu and Kevin moved, and the two sing in the front. The spotlight followed them both, and the other lights started turning on again, and blinked to the uplifting beats of the song.

I think of you
Cause you will always be on my mind

The group started to dance again to the beat, in the most synchronised and clean choreography, with Chen in the center, singing to the verse as well as following the dance. Chen, Sungmin and Kevin rotated their position as each verse belongs to them. The colorful lights are blinking to the beat, with the LED screen showing an explosion of flower petals.

So where ever and whenever
I see the sun set and I think of you

It’s euphoria
I close my eyes and think of you softly

I’m so in-toc-toxicated
I don’t wanna ever wake up from this dream

Chen moved to the center while other members slowly walked back from their position to form a circling formation. The lights stopped blinking and slowly shine the stage again. The LED screen came back to the flower petal rain graphics again.

I think of you
Baby your all I want too

The members fell to the floor, and lies on each other's thighs circling Sungmin. Sungmin sat in the center and sang his own part. The lights are dimmed and the spotlights are pointed to Sungmin.

You filled this empty space inside of me

Sungmin changed his position with Chen. The spotlight is now pointed on Chen.

I don’t wanna escape this warm embrace

Chen changed his position with Xiu. Xiu sang his own part, and the other members rose.

Magical, undeniable, It’s beautiful

Kevin moved to the front and sang in an amazing 3-octave high note giving the audience a shivering feeling. The other members made a small jump to the beat. The LED screen showed a flower explosion. Confetti are exploding, and flower petals started to rain again from above. The lights blinked to the beat.

OHH, yeah

The members danced randomly, and sang together. They walked to every corner of the stage, circling the stage and invited the audience to dance together.

[ALL]So where ever and whenever
I see the sun set and I think of you

It’s euphoria
I close my eyes and think of you softly

I’m so in-toc-toxicated
I don’t wanna ever wake up from this dream

I think of you
Baby your all I want too

The members are united again in the main stage, and formed a flower bloom formation with their hand fans and the music ended. The LED screen is fading back to a red-pinkish background with AJAX logo on it, and the lights started to dim.

After the performance ended, they gathered and bowed to the audience while saying "Thank you. Thank you very much. Love you all." The audience cheered for their great performance. They made their exist while waving to the audience along the way.

Colors corresonding to each member :

Chen
Sungmin
Kevin
Xiu
Takao
Kris

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:10 pm

Tune: Billy Joel - Tell Her About It

Background
In the 39th World Hit Festival, Adab's debut in the contest, the country surprisingly managed to achieve ninth place with Maria Alfassa's "Always Be That Way". This was quite the surprise, considering that the public and the music executives - most notably Kinan al-Salaman, who was now also Adab's official WorldVision and WHF songwriter and, in that capacity, wrote the aforementioned song - did not hold out high hopes about the song, which - although it sold well - was criticized for being a "safe choice" and overly maudlin. Thus, when the song broke into the top ten, it became a cause of celebration in the country, with Maria hailed by The Samarra Enquirer as "a voice of her generation" and "one of the best balladeers right now." Emperor Tizqar III, in whose name Maria was chosen to represent Adab at the WHF (even though it was doubtful whether the supercentenarian monarch was even involved in making that decision), was reported to have reacted with shock when informed of the song's final placing; he had expected it to languish somewhere mid-table.

Shortly before the 65th WorldVision Song Contest, al-Salaman extracted a major concession from the Emperor: the latter would no longer pick the country's representatives for WorldVision and the World Hit Festival, leaving the choice to al-Salaman. How al-Salaman even managed to do this is still shrouded in mystery, although outlandish conspiracy theories claim that al-Salaman threatened the Emperor with a coup or even poisoning if he did not back down. Whatever actually went down between the two men will likely never be known for sure, but what is certain is that al-Salaman now had the freedom to choose the performer and write the song for both contests; this was the degree of artistic freedom that he had desired for quite a while. Even though al-Salaman had retired from the WorldVision stage, it is reported that he still intended to "influence" the country's efforts in WorldVision and the WHF, essentially becoming the power behind the throne (that is, the performer).

Al-Salaman quickly set out to find the country's ideal contestant for the next World Hit Festival. Though not an official requirement, it was by now an open secret that any potential contestant would have to be signed to Al-Salaman Records (al-Salaman himself did not deny nor confirm it), and indeed the choice fell to one of the label's artists, a 23-year-old rising star named Shamsi Ara. Shamsi came from a family of merchants in Uruk, and rose to prominence thanks to his videos on MyScreen, where he posted covers of some of the country's most popular songs. He was signed to Al-Salaman Records barely four months ago, and his debut album Dancing with You, shot to the top of the charts within a week of its release just a month ago. Shamsi's brand of music, influenced by a mixture of doo-wop, pop, and vocal jazz, earned praise from critics, one describing his songs as "guaranteed to keep you on your feet the whole night." Al-Salaman would later say that his decision to pick Shamsi was an easy one; he was at the moment the country's rising star, with a legion of fans, and he felt that Shamsi's "unabashedly happy, energetic music" would enchant foreign fans and critics alike, including at the World Hit Festival.

Though al-Salaman was the official songwriter, he was now increasingly focusing on his business activities and decided that he could not finish the song intended for the WHF were he to write it alone, thus he collaborated with Shamsi on both the lyrics and the music. It was Shamsi's suggestion, after both men wasted an entire day of recording sessions suffering from lack of inspiration, that they bring in saxophonists to "spice up the song." Shamsi received a songwriting credit for the song alongside al-Salaman.

The performance
Around five hundred Adabian fans had filed into the Majcena Foruma that night, blending into the crowd of 11,000, all gathered there for none other than the 40th World Hit Festival. The stage was dark as Adab's postcard was displayed on the screen to the cheers and applauses of the crowd, but most of all from the raucous Adabians, eagerly waiting for their representative on what would be their second foray into the contest, hoping that he could top their previous, and unexpectedly successful, showing. The cheers only increased as specks of light emerged from the darkness in several colors, while a quote was splashed across the screens on the background in white font: "BELIEVE IN LIFE, BELIEVE IN LOVE, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF."

As the venue grew bright, the audience could see several people filing onto the stage: members of Shamsi's backing band. The ones who truly caught their attention were the five saxophonists, dressed identically in casual attire and occupying the spot intended for the orchestra. The shell-like appendices hovering over the two sides of the stage had been opened at the instructions of the Adabian delegation, in order to provide a "maximum sense of space and freedom" for the contestant. The saxophonists were the ones who started the music, sounding out the first notes of the song, their playing greeted enthusiastically by the audience as the venue exploded in all its multicolored glory, lights flashing around the stage and shining down from the ceiling. This is where Shamsi Adad made his entrance, the spotlight - a great, pristine white light that contrasted nicely with all the colors around it - immediately on him. He danced his way onto the stage, microphone in his left hand, eyes sparkling as he shouted into the mic and to the audience, "ARE YOU READY PEOPLE?!!!", which was greeted by cheers and shouts of "YES!" from the Adabians in the audience. "LET'S DO IT!!!" Shamsi responded, tiptoeing around and swaying his hips.

Well, listen all
I got a girl and she's the best one that I have ever known
She makes me a happy man with every second I spend with her
She's beyond compare and I don't know what to say
But I tell her every single night she's the one

Well, listen all
I got a girl and she's the single greatest thing in this whole wide world
We spend every single day together, I don't know if I'm dreaming
I really can't describe her, but I know that I love her
And this song is for her, the one I can't live without

The LED screens on the floor were now a mixture of flashing red, green, and white. Shamsi turned his back on the audience for a while, raising his arms as he faced his band. "This is it, boys! This is our moment!" he shouted to his band before once again turning to the audience.

You're the one, girl
You're my brighter side and my hope
When you're here by my side, I know I can achieve anything

You're the one, girl
You're my star and you're my dream
When you need anything, just know that I'll always be on your side

Shamsi was now on his knees in the middle of the stage, raising one hand to the ceiling, as if trying to reach for the stars or divine intervention. His eyes glimmered with hope and excitement as the audience cheered him and his band on.

Well, listen all
I got a girl and she's the only one that I care about
If you think you want to go after us, you'd better think again
'Cause we have each other and nothing can stop us
And nothing can make us part from each other

You're the one, girl
You're my brighter side and my hope
When you're here by my side, I know I can achieve anything

You're the one, girl
You're my star and you're my dream
When you need anything, just know that I'll always be on your side

The LED screens, in the background and on the floor, were now showing pictures of Shamsi and his fiancee, some featuring only both of them, others featuring them along with their friends. "That girl right there," he pointed to the blonde one on the screen, presented in all her sweetness and beauty, "is the one. She's my only one." The audience responded enthusiastically, especially the Adabians, shouting and applauding the singer as he strolled onto the runway, shaking hands with some fans along the way.

So I promise to you
That I'll always be right here
Don't ever think that I'd walk away
Though I am not a man with no flaws
I'll try to be perfect just for you

Well, listen all
I got a girl and I'm a lucky man for it
I don't know what I'd be if she weren't there for me
She placed her trust in me, I know I'm fortunate
And I'll make sure she's made the right decision

By now Shamsi was on the satellite stage at the front, taking in the adulation of the crowd. "You're the greatest, you're the greatest, I don't know what to say," he said to the crowd. "To everyone here who's made this an amazing night for me, for my band, for all of us, thank you. You're the best." He now turned again to his band, far behind him on the main stage. "And you, I won't be here without you. Thank you to all of you. I don't know what I'd do without you. This is a love song to my girl, but tonight I dedicate this to all of you, the audience, my band, everyone in this place. You made this all possible. Once again, thank you. You're the best, and I'm privileged to be able to perform here before you." Then he launched back into the song, while starting back to the main stage.

You're the one, girl
You're my brighter side and my hope
When you're here by my side, I know I can achieve anything

You're the one, girl
You're my star and you're my dream
When you need anything, just know that I'll always be on your side

You're the one, girl
You're my brighter side and my hope
When you're here by my side, I know I can achieve anything

You're the one, girl
You're my star and you're my dream
When you need anything, just know that I'll always be on your side

The outro seemed to go on and on for a while, as Shamsi and the band were lost in their excitement, but finally - and inevitably - the music died down. The lights dimmed, the spotlight disappeared, and the same quote from the beginning of the performance flashed across the LED screens on the background: "BELIEVE IN LIFE, BELIEVE IN LOVE, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF." Shamsi gathered his band at the front of the main stage and bowed to the main stage. "Thank you, thank you very much, thank you to everyone here. I love you all," Shamsi said before he and his band made their exit, waving to the audience along the way.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:22 pm

Translation: Better
Tune: HERE ('Hunger' by Florence + The Machine)

After a year of absence from the music contests of the multiverse, EUSK1 was contacted by RTVK in order to join the fortieth edition of the beloved World Hit Festival. Interest in the contest had everything but waned in the country, and they were certainly eager to join a edition that would feature all the WHF overseeing nations. Of course, EUSK1 took the job quite seriously and internally selected one of the most acclaimed young artists of the Harrikía. Alía Monkada had already attempted to represent her country in the WHF, having taken part in Euskal-Doinua1 and earning the 2nd place. The 3rd and 1st places of the same national final, Samira Kareli (albeit with a different song) and Nadija Djokanović, had actually won the World Hit Festival (with the latter having performed in Mousiki as well).... Would Alía bring Euskirribakondara their eighth win? EUSK1 decided to try their best to make that happen.

Song Intro by Alía: "EUSK1 have been so supportive of me that I did have the chance to perform "ᑯᑕᒍᐤ", my Euskal-Doinua1 song. However, a few months ago I was reflecting upon life and my mission here; and I had a full-on mid-twenties crisis. And I realized that it wasn't going to be the last one, or even the worst one. At one point, I was able to acknowledge the fact that life is a constant swing between pleasant and unpleasant moments; and I saw, that even when at my darkest moments I feel like I haven't conquered anything at all; I really should be proud of where I've come to. Only when you know yourself better, you can improve. And knowing yourself requires accepting those bits of you that you don't like.... and even accepting the mere fact that you don't like them. I'm basically just putting myself out there; and all I want is for people to connect with that raw dimension of myself."

Alía was wearing a dress similar to the one worn in this performance (albeit slightly more ragged), and with her signature orange/purple hair in the same rather organic fashion as in this picture. She would be joined on stage by the Harrikes Philharmonic, 22 members of the Uirapurú Provincial Choir (with basic white robes and a halo-like crown) and 9 members of the Bilbauski Ballet (dressed and hair styled just like Alía, and with a white half-mask and golden makeup on the visible part of their faces): that way she would have live orchestral music, a powerful backing choir, and eight masked lookalikes (OOC: bear in mind then, that the song has a more instrumental and vocal sound than the tune hereby provided).

(Translation between brackets; that translation is given to the participating broadcasters to subtitle this performance when broadcasting.)

The stage was pitch black after the previous performance. In a matter of seconds (basically the time in which the postcard was being broadcast worldwide) the main stage was covered in large linen-like fabrics, with some sheets hanging in front of the screens (like in this performance). The two shells of the main stage were opened and the different members of the orchestra were symmetrically accommodated. Eight of the nine dancers were evenly distributed along the side runways, with the ninth one right in the satellite stage, lying on a white double bed. The members of the choir got off-stage and hid among the most frontal audience pit (which had a rather large amount of Euskirribakondarans) in a random fashion, wearing headsets. On the main stage, the crew set and hid several paint cannons that would eventually be used. Throughout the arena a few small custom-designed fragmented mirrors were uncovered (they would be used for special lighting effects). After the setup, Alía took the mic on her hands and lied down, facing up, on the sheet that covered the center of the main stage. The cameras' attention was back in the arena, and with everything still swallowed by darkness, the song began.

The cameras began shooting from the front as a few spotlights shone upon some members of the orchestra creating vertical columns of reddish brown light when the strings section began the song. Then some other spotlights turned on as the previous ones turned off (@0:25). Among the most frontal audience pit, the choir began articulating the first notes as they slowly walked through the crowd, their halos shining in a dim orange light (@0:28). The frontal image of the stage was being interspersed with close-ups of the strings being played, and steadicam images from the audience following the choir members' movements. Spotlights off, and yellowish white light began shining from the screens of the stage (@0:42). The pace of the choir changed to frantic movements, dodging attendants, going up, crouching, rolling (and several cameras were focused on these people, from the main stage and towards the arena; shots changing every one or two seconds to the beat of the song).

Some seconds later, all the choir had reached the edge of the two sides of the main stage. The lights went off briefly and when they came back, a "flying" camera was shooting Alía from the roof and closing up on her as she began the song (which as a matter of fact is the first monolingual Euskal WHF/WV entry ever; and only the second monolingual entry from Euskirribakondara in the WHF). The yellowish white light from the screens shone through the linen sheets and created a sepia-like nostalgic aura on the stage (the main palette for the performance was in yellow/gold/orange tones) (and the cameras were actually using a filter to make it look even warmer; the whole appearance of the stage was a stark contrast to the more futuristic approach used by most other delegations). For every line, the first part was just the image zooming up on Alía, whilst the second part was the same close-up but with a superimposed image of the dancer from the satellite stage (as a matter of fact, the other eight dancers are doing the same choreography, but they don't have a bed prop). For the first line, the Alía-lookalike dancer rolls across the bed as if trying to get up; for the second line the camera revolves around a sad-looking resting woman; and for the third line, she gets up and off the bed and covers her mouth with her right hand (her facial expression that of worry). For the fourth line there is no image superposition: the camera zooms out to reveal Alía and two spaces around her (the linen on the floor), which are filled with a brown spade (card suit figure) on the space on the left and a golden heart on her space on the right (painted on the spot by members of the backstage crew). As she sings, Alía tries to stand up.

[1:01 - 1:17]
Zenbat lehoguan ni joanerkés... (How many beds I had to go through...)
Zenbat niak haikak morilerkés... (How many different 'me's had to die...)
Zenbat moti okrrarekín garuerkés... (How many words I had to cross with the wrong people...)
Zenbat kárta enoïz xokaperkés... (How many cards I never dealt...)

The first stanza had been profited by the choir to reach their respective places in the two sides of the stage. With the first sentence of the buildup to the chorus, she stood up in a defiant pose. When the choir sang, the cameras would show them (in a horizontal panning movement); when Alía sang, the image would first concentrate on her face and then follow her arms. Alía's second line was accompanied by a wind machine and the movement of a few sheets blowing in the wind as the center of attention. For her third line, she played around with her arms; which she continued for the next one, where she widely opened her arms. You could see Alía was very comfortable with her song and performance, and rather than following a choreography, she was just feeling her song and enjoying it with pure freedom.

[1:17 - 1:33]
Obi one* gu biziok (A better time than ever before* we are living)
(U, u, u, u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)
Obi akuak itsalok (Better waters we are sailing)
(U, u, u , u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)
Obi egunak bikusok (Better days we are seeing)
(U, u, u , u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)
Obi otzelak hegazok (Better skies we are flying)
(U, u, u , u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)

*(Literal Translation: "a better best we are currently living").

A microphone stand appeared in front of Alía and a millisecond after she put her microphone in, she kicked the chorus in: she freed both her arms and sang with a raw conviction-filled vocal quality. For the chorus, the lights changed to a brighter whiter tone, and the cameras would switch between panoramic shots of the whole main stage and frontal shots of Alía. Alía was in a musical trance, definitely; and as she rocked her arms to punctuate every syllable of the third line (just like in the video @1:37), the people watching at home were starting to fall in love with her blatant emotional authenticity.

[1:34 - 1:41]
Orrain errisagá! (Say it now!)
Kinomo berrada (How did it happen again?)
Tunman besoïtík eroïhá* gu ere biratapeka? (How did we naïvely turn from zero to hero* too?)

*("Besoïtík eroïhá" is an Euskal proverb whose literal meaning is "from ballast to hero". Its English equivalent would be "from zero to hero").

The cameras were slightly zooming up on Alía, but the angles were different for every line. For the fourth line, the cameras showed the whole stage revealing a bed-less satellite stage and the nine dancers synchronizedly jumping up high and then landing in a hard-falling-like way. Although lost in translation, there is a clever word play in this chorus as the fourth line can be interpreted in Euskal as either being connected to the other three lines, or not: in any way, there is clearly an emphasis on that last line.

[1:42 - 1:49]
Gu akoak rasko be- (We many times)
-Zoa eroïak izan- (Were heroes)
-Eka eretebaï (The same amount of times)
Gu kadereka (We fell)

For the "duet" between the choir and Alía, the latter began prancing, spinning and dancing around the stage (like in this video @1:17). The overall image was ethereal; and the sound reverberated throughout the arena with a lot of energy. There was another interesting literary resource here: there were two possible ways of reading the next lines. One is as if the lines sung by Alía and the lines sung by the choir are connected within their own selves but unrelated; and another one following their order of appearance (are we seeing better days AND a better world? are we seeing through transparent waters? are we living through the skies?... it's up for the listener to tell).

[1:50 - 2:07]
Obi one gu biziok (A better time than ever before we are living)
(Obi begiolak) (Better eyes)
Obi akuak itsalok (Better waters we are sailing)
(-Arekín bikureok) (Through which I see anew)
Obi egunak bikusok (Better days we are seeing)
(Eta nou munduan) (And a better world)
Obi otzelak hegazok (Better skies we are flying)
(-Arekín ni biziok) (Through which I live)

Alía continued moving across the stage (in a similar fashion to this video @2:09). But now, the paint cannons started shooting paint upon the floor fabrics. A steadicam was following her as she magically dodged the paint shots. There was a resolute happiness in herself and her performance, and it was being effectively conveyed to the audience. The nine dancers were doing similar movements to Alía's in their spots, and this occasion was used for a beautiful horizontal panning shot (from left to right) that carried us along the side runways path (but in front of them, so that we could see the dancers and the intermittent appearances of Alía in the back.

[2:07 - 2:14]
Ixo izanarí? (Will it be so?)
Sedejáparí? (Will it suffice?)
Segarriahá, nafikoa es malgraïak (Not enough tears to quench the thirst)

The paint shooting stopped. Alía was at this point very dynamic on stage, and it matched the dramatics created by the sheets blowing in the wind (like in this video @1:30). Her voice was definitely at its best tonight (in a way, the Euskal delegation was happy that no semifinals were necessary after all: it was only a single chance).

[2:15 - 2:22]
Eta goseahá, ere nafik'(o)a... (And to satisfy the hunger; there are also not enough)
Es niren mihileren koskeareak (Bites of my tongue)
(U, u, u, u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)

Alía could go from a bulky voice to a delicate very soft whisper in a second and that was clearly the technique used now. The cameras showed the dancers for these lines, who did a pose as if clutching their hearts before falling to the ground in slow-motion (the slow-motion was of course a visual effect only available to those watching the broadcast). This exact moment was used to bring the lights' intensity down for the upcoming verse.

[2:24 - 2:28]
Es bikorren askirrareak (Nor ripped pieces of my heart)
(U, u, u, u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)
Gero, iriski... (Afterwards, one manages...)

The next verse began with a quick breath and a change of camera angles. Alía began to rock her body just like in this video @1:54 as she continued moving around and singing. This was a difficult song to sing in the way Alía wanted to sing it, so her dancing was not changing from the delicate prancing and bopping stage on until now. Large holograms of long drinks appeared and Alía seemed to elude them undisturbed. For the third line, the cameras showed the dancers downing a (fake) shot in unison.

[2:29 - 2:36]
Ni altu abedanak (Long drinks)
Askirriman uko--ginez ban ni ere (I used to quickly reject, but at the same time)
Daxniren kupak prénupez (I used to take the shot glasses)

Alía "fell" to the ground and started rolling around on the fabrics. In the process, her dress was getting stained with the paint that had fallen before. Her playful attitude was endearing and the on-stage steadicam was trying to capture that; as well as her facial expressions, which went along with the lyrics quite well. Meanwhile, the dancers were running along the side runways to reach the main stage.

[2:37 - 2:45]
Amingotasun, pixkadiz (Bitterness, even if bit)
Pixkadizpar bi--ruan nasegípesa (By bit, tastes the same)

Alía got up and continued singing whilst the cameras switched between her and the orchestra. When the image was on her, the shot would begin on the floor, observing the diverse figures created by the paint on the fabrics and gaze up towards the nymph-like Euskal singer.

[2:45 - 2:52]
Eta un bostonoiz niren (And at one point)
Birikoak nou balen (My lungs, a new large)
Sakun barlenda arrafá- (Deep breath, they caught)

A "flying camera" came from the back of the arena in an epic zoom up of Alía. When the zoom up was complete, the camera zoomed out a little bit to reveal the dancers creating a "shield" with their hands around Alía.

[2:52 - 2:56]
-Pesa. Ni estoneok. (I wasn't here before, and now I am)

Special golden spotlights were directed at the custom-designed fragmented mirrors throughout the arena for the climax of the song. The visual effect on the whole audience was like in this picture; and the "flying" cameras were going through this space, watching this light effect and the people... many of which were singing along with the choir as the lyrics of this pre-chorus were shown on the stage screens. These images were interspersed those coming from small go-pro cameras installed on the violins that showed how the strings were played for this part of the song.

[3:02 - 3:17]
(Obi begiolak) (Better eyes)
(-Arekín bikureok) (Through which I see anew)
(Eta nou munduan) (And a better world)
(-Arekín ni biziok) (With which I live)

The mirrors were kept for the final part of the song as the intensity of the light coming from the screens was also increased: the image was heaven-like. The strength in Alía's voice was more visible in this final chorus than up until now; as she juggled on-pitch singing with jumping and spinning around in a now choreographed routine (which was still true to her own style) that connected the movements of her nine dancers, the paint cannons and their shots, and Alía. It was a very visually pleasant performance; and at a few points slow motion was used to increase the dramatic effect of the whole program.

[3:17 - 3:33]
Orrain errisagá! (Say it now!)
Kinomo berrada (How did it happen again?)
Tunman besoïtík eroïhá gu ere biratapeka? (How did we naïvely turn from zero to hero too?)
Ni akoak rasko be- (I many times)
Zoa salbatze izan- (Was a savior)
Eka eretebaï (The same amount of times)
Ni borrero dak (I was an executioner)

A steadicam was in front of her and kept up with her as she bopped, spun and pranced her way along the left runway towards the satellite stage. Her dance crew was behind her, following her and ripping her dress apart rag by rag. Moreover, in the broadcast, lyric-related images were superimposed as the song progressed (a rising sun in the first two lines, seawaves in the next two, the image of the planet in the next two, and the image of a flying bird in the final two). At one point of all of this, Alía finally realized how much she and her song had connected with the crowd and she let out a candid smile.

[3:34 - 3:50]
Obi one gu biziok (A better time than ever before we are living)
(Obi begiolak) (Better eyes)
Obi akuak itsalok (Better waters we are sailing)
(-Arekín bikureok) (Through which I see anew)
Obi egunak bikusok (Better days we are seeing)
(Eta nou munduan) (And a better world)
Obi otzelak hegazok (Better skies we are flying)
(-Arekín ni biziok) (Through which I live)

The grand finale was on the satellite stage. The dancers were throwing paint at Alía's dress and ripping it apart as she sang passionately; whilst the hanging sheets in the back were "magically" ripped apart and flew away in a strong gust of wind. Coordinated lighting sequences "scanned" the arena bottom-to-top to the beat of the song, and the whole stage lights came to life for the first time in this act. Wider shots were being used to show the stage in is most open form until now.

[3:51 - 4:07]
Ixo izanarí? (Will it be so?)
Sedejáparí? (Will it suffice?)
Segarriahá, nafikoa es malgraïak (Not enough tears to quench the thirst)
Eta goseahá, ere nafik'(o)a... (And to satisfy the hunger; there are also not enough)
Es niren mihileren koskeareak (Bites of my tongue)
(U, u, u, u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)

A final tear of the dress was about to reveal a naked Alía but then her crew gathered around her to act as her shield from foreign eyes. All the spotlights went to the satellite stage (capturing the rest of the arena in full darkness) as Alía delivered the final lines just like THIS (with a minor pause and breath between the second-to-last and last line). The lighting went from the main yellow/orange palette to a cooler blue one (like in this performance).

[4:07 - 4:15]
Es bikorren askirrareak (Nor ripped pieces of my heart)
(U, u, u, u-u-u) (Ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo-ooh)
Gero, iriski... (Afterwards, one manages...)

Biziaki desokihá dak (To find again the will to live.)

As she closed her mouth, Alía looked as if she was about to cry and the crowd just cheered.

Géskerri Rasko, Gràcies Mult Euskirribakondara! Hvala, Mousiki!

The stage went dark again for the next performance.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:25 pm

After Euskirribakondara's performance was over and a few minutes elapsed to allow for the stage to be set up for the hosting intervention, the hostess re-appeared once more behind the music note podium.

Petra: Thank you Alia Monkada for that wonderful performance! Of course, we want this process to be as fast and efficient as possible so we can't keep you waiting. I know you are all ready to vote.

Petra: Alright, so here's how it works. You'll have the usual World Hit Festival voting procedure, you'll dial the number on your screen to vote. Only the nations that have participated here tonight will have their votes count though. So if your nation was not in this semi tonight, your vote won't be counted.

Petra: As I said before, only seven qualifiers will advance to the grand final. Your votes will determine precisely who will advance. I'll detail them right now.

Petra recited the voting instructions in both Izmeduan and English, while commentators from various other countries would largely be doing the same in their own national languages.

Petra: Alright, here we go...

WORLD! START! VOTING! NOW!!!

The crowd cheer was wilder than expected, with a countdown clock that started at 15 minutes and counting now having appeared in the background screens and on the broadcast. Some sparks were released from the stage as the producers let the crowd cheer for a bit. However, the production did not want to take a risk with the show running behind on schedule. Stage hands again put up the signs for the crowd to quiet, and the crowd seemed to follow the instructions without the hostess intervening.

Petra: My goodness! Anyway, all of you here and at home have about 15 minutes to vote. Decide quickly, the fates of 15 nations are now on your hands. Of course, we here at Mousiki still need to pass the time somehow. What better than an interval act from someone we all may know?

Petra: Many of you Izmeduans may know this singer. When we here at RTI realized that semi-finals had to be a thing, we were at a loss of what to do to fill the time. We were in a panic! But someone at just the last moment saved us from having to air some white noise or those weird TV things you see when the signal runs out.

Petra: 10 editions ago, back in the 30th World Hit Festival.

Petra paused here to let the crowd cheer for a little bit.

Petra: We were represented by a certain someone named Katarina Zunic. She only went and won the contest, her powerful ballad "Standing Tall" resonating with the multiverse. She's back here again with an emotional song called "Letting You Go," a song that she's said "is for anyone that needs a light of way after having to let go of someone they are close to. Whether that be a friend, lover, or whoever they are." Without further ado, please give a cheer for Katarina Zunic!

INTERVAL ACT
Katarina Zunic - Letting You Go
Tune: Kelly Clarkson - Already Gone

At the start of the song, a spotlight descended upon Katarina as the Majcena Foruma's stage was bathed in a faint golden light. The orchestra would play the entire backing track life, with the drums echoing slightly as the two waves of violins on both sides of the stage provided the melancholic instrumentation to the song. The camera panned as the orchestra were at work providing the mood of the song, moving over slowly before fading to a view of Katarina. She'd aged gracefully since her appearance in WHF30, looking more experienced. She smiled to the crowd as the spotlight on her intensified and she put the microphone to her mouth to begin singing...

Just a day ago we were laughing
Celebrating our lives with no tears
Thinking that our pasts were behind us
But one day I knew things changed
What was once your comfort became fear
And instead I only brought you pain

She sang the first verse slowly, using a much higher register than she was used to versus her previous experience. Katarina remained stationary throughout most of the song, letting her arched eyebrows and glistening eyes to be the focus. The camera remained transfixed to her gaze with her face tilted slightly sideways. Each line carried within it a subtle packet of emotion and a slight movement, a smile turning into a slight frown. At the last line of the verse, she looked down, letting the camera view fade to an intermixing of her solemn face and the orchestra at work.

I tried to run away from the truth
Now I know that I only make you angry

The lights softened their intensity as the camera panned to a wider view of the stage, the viewers at home Katarina on her lonesome delivering the vocal. At the second line, Katarina began to turn sideways, with the camera taking a close view of her eyes looking towards the catwalks. The lights softly faded to darkness just before the chorus...

I know I promised
That I'd never leave you
But I see your face
The way your eyes ache
I know I'm not who you need
What you need is someone better
Someone better and stronger
And I'm letting you go

At the start of the chorus, the lights brightened as Katarina can now be seen walking down the catalk slowly as she passionately belted each line. Her eyes were glistening further and her vocals were at their highest so far, her body visibly moved and her eyes closed from the emotion she was pouring out. The camera focused on a sideways view of Katarina as she walked, staying close to her while occasionally fading to audience members who were slowly waving their flags or to the orchestra who were slowly playing their instruments, their expressions fitting the mood. The ending of the chorus was abrupt, with Katarina halfway through the catwalk and ending it with a brief downwards note.

No amount of denying this hurt
Will damage the wounds I've caused to you
Love didn't win over imperfection
And I felt your unhappiness
Where you once smiled you now feel tears
Before long you began to hate me

She kept walking towards the satellite stage as she sang the verse, taking each step deliberately as the camera focused on a close-up side profile. The lights gleamed off her face, creating a dramatic effect where it seemed as if her expression was cased in shadow. The lights darkened slightly to account for the verse's softer instrumentation. A faint guitar added to the wistful mood, which was Katarina's dominant expression as she made the brief trek to the catwalk. By the end of the verse, she was at the catwalk, looking towards the arena as the camera faded for a shot from behind her, panning out to reveal the whole arena.

I knew you needed to feel free
I wasn't good enough to be yours

For the brief hook, the camera returned back to Katarina. Her hands reached out before receding, the camera fading to a sideways view from the right by the second line. The Majcena Foruma darkened slightly once more in the lead up to the chorus.

I know I promised
That I'd never leave you
But I see your face
The way your eyes ache
I know I'm not who you need
What you need is someone better
Someone better and stronger
And I'm letting you go

At the chorus, the Majcena Foruma once more lit up in faded gold colors, now mixed with baby blues at some parts of the stage (especially at the outlines that surrounded the open shells that housed the orchestra). Katarina delivered the chorus with a bit more intensity, the camera fading between wide views of the stage to close-ups, with her giving it her all. This was accentuated with a sudden holographic appearance of a pair separating, both on opposite sides of Katarina not daring to look at each other. These same scenes began to appear on the main stage as well, with the pit nearest to the main stage witnessing brief holograms of arguments occurring and friendships and relationships breaking down.

And I'm letting you go, I'm letting you go
I'm the one who needs to go
For you to be happy
I'm letting you go, letting you go
For you to be free
So I'm letting you go

Katarina continued her powerful yet melancholy delivery, arching her back and going downwards to continue on the relentless vocal onslaught. Her face was exuding the sorrow of the song, looking upwards for the second and third lines as she belted them out. With the way she kept singing in this register, it almost looked as if the pain of the song mixed in with the relative difficulty, to the point where the calm ending was a relief.

Letting you go, letting you go, letting you go
Letting you go, letting you go, letting you go

The holograms briefly disappeared as the camera focused on Katarina free-styling with the song's title. She didn't go too far, only adding a slight bit of melisma and affective vocal styling but still staying true to the melody's integrity. The lights darkened at the end of this bridge, going forth towards a direct callback to the first verse.

Just a day ago we were laughing
Celebrating our lives with no tears
Thinking that our pasts were behind us

The lights were at their darkest, almost shut off sans an outline of golden and blue lights. The camera would stay static as Katarina emoted these lines. Her face was tilted sideways, an expression and atmosphere of a resigned nostalgia in her vocals. At the end, Katarina can be visibly seen taking a deep breath as the orchestra readied itself for the last minute of the song.

I know I promised
That I'd never leave you
But I see your face
The way your eyes ache
I know I'm who you need
What you need is someone better
A better and stronger man
And I'm letting you go

For the final chorus, Katarina truly let out her all, letting her vocals soar and her belts resonate far more than the studio version. Her eyes could be seen gleaming, with a traitor tear almost falling down from her eyes. The camera once more focused on close-ups, her face at its most emotive and her expressions at their most intense. The lights brightened to their highest setting for the song as the holograms around Katarina began to 'settle' the mini-narratives build on the stage. On the main stage, holograms can be seen walking away from the other person. These moments were timed to Katarina's most intense vocal moments.

And I'm letting you go, I'm letting you go
I'm the one who needs to go
For you to be happy
I'm letting you go, letting you go
For you to be free
So I'm letting you go

The holograms began to disappear as Katarina reached her vocal climax here. Her vocals were as strong as they were gonna get. Her eyes were now nearly tear-stained as she let loose the most intense emotions she could muster. By the end of the song, the camera panned away to a wider view and the Majcena Foruma darkened.

“Thank you so much! Hvala!” Her voice was a bit shaky, but Katarina blew a kiss to the crowd and walked backstage.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:26 pm

The camera zoomed out to the entirety of the Majcena Foruma as Katarina exited the stage. The music note podium can be seen being raised from the ground as well as the shells being closed. After Katarina and the accompanying orchestra were for sure safely backstage, Petra re-appeared.

Petra: Thank you for that wonderful performance, Katarina! Alright, we're very close to the point where we're about to close the voting.

Petra: Of course, it wouldn't be fair for us to not give you a reminder of the songs. As the voting approaches its final few minutes, we have prepared a recap video showing the best bits of every performance. This is the last chance of tonight's 15 songs to make the case for their qualification. Here they are!

The camera cut to a wide view of the Majcena as the logo flashed on the screens once more, before starting with Lochario's “Na furis.” Each song would have 20 seconds in the spotlight for their recap, focusing on either the song's most dramatic moments in either vocal or staging capacity. This would continue on until Euskirribakondara's entry. Alia Monkada's haunting vocals were the final notes heard from the recap video until it was subsided with heavy crowd cheers. There was now only a minute left until voting lines closed.

Petra: Alright world, this is it. You only have one minute left to decide who tonight's qualifiers are. 15 nations' fates lie on your hands and only 7 tonight will have a chance to sing again in the grand final.

The countdown clock was ticking to a greater frenzy of crowd cheer, only intensifying as the seconds reached single digits. Petra led the crowd to shouting out the last 10 seconds of the voting window, until she proudly announced...

WORLD! STOP! VOTING! NOW!!!

Petra: That's it! Don't vote now! Your votes will not count and you may still be charged! World, we now have 7 winners from the first semi-final!

Petra: Alright, I hear the producers in my ear hard at work in tabulating the results. Oh, it looks like I may have Mr. Overseer contacting me! Ivan? Ivan Sandic? Are you there?

The camera cut to a nestled production room within the arena, where both Izmeduans and Britonish were witnessing the results come through and many World Hit Festival staff were finalizing the results. Per Britonisea's election to being the new overseers of the World Hit Festival, the Izmeduan team were showing the Britonish of what went on behind the scenes. Of course, the man who is symbolically considered the overseer and the executive supervisor, Ivan Sandic, was sitting there with a bit of a nervous smile on his face. Dora Vidakovic, the still general-director of RTI, was right there with him.

Ivan: Yes, Petra, we can confirm that we have a valid result and that we have seven qualifiers ready to be revealed. It is now up to you to show the world who they are. Take it away!

The camera then cut back to Petra.

Petra: Ah, you're always a nervous one Ivan, are you? Alright, let's not delay this further. It's time to find out who will qualify to the grand final of the 40th World Hit Festival!

A dramatic whoosh came through to the arena as the lights flickered first and then intensified, signaling the start of the tense atmosphere normally bought about by voting reveals.

Petra: 15 nations have competed and only 7 will qualify. These seven nations represent the 7 highest scoring nations of this semi that have been determined by your televoting and your juries. Thus, they will be revealed in a totally random order. Alright, let's begin.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:27 pm

This music would begin playing as the view then switched to the graphic displayed above. It would serve as the the theme for the first four qualifiers.

Petra: The first qualifier is...

Petra: The second qualifier through to the grand final is...

Petra: I can feel the atmosphere growing more tense. 13 countries are standing but five spots are still up for grabs.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:28 pm

Petra: Alright, our third qualifier is...

Petra: The fourth qualifier is...

Petra: Alright! Only 3 spots remain, but we have so many countries that are waiting to hear their fate. Oh my goodness, this is getting too exciting.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:31 pm

The music paused for a moment as the camera was cheering up a frenzy in the Majcena. Petra took a brief pause as the camera cut to a few delegations that hadn't been called yet. The lights intensified once more as this music began to play.

Petra: Alright, we're now down to your final three qualifiers. So, who's our fifth qualifier?

Petra: Alright, only two more spots remain and we have so many nations left out there. Okay, let's all take a collective breath and find out who our sixth qualifier is... And they are...

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:32 pm

The atmosphere in the Majcena Foruma was as tense as it was gonna get. Six nations have been announced, but many hefty names were fighting over that one spot. They ranged from former WHF winners, to debutantes, and to returning nations. Petra took a deep breath.

Petra: This is it, only one more nation is certain of a place in the grand final. Who is our seventh qualifer? They are...

Petra: This is it! We now know who our first seven qualifiers are! Here they are on the screen!

The seven qualifiers, in the order that they were announced, began to descend upon the main stage. The two shells were opened to allow the mass of delegations more breathing room to move around and wave their flags proudly. They'd done it. The first hurdle for these entries' journies to winning the World Hit Festival had been cleared. All of them had a chance for the title in the Grand Final. Of course, it was no time to get complacent. We now know 8 entrants to the grand final, but seven more still needed to be discovered.

As the qualifiers descended upon the stage, a recap video began to play from the order of the first qualifier to the last. Once that video package was complete, the camera shot faded to a full view of the Majcena Foruma's stage. All seven delegations that represented the qualifying nations were on the stage celebrating, as Petra was there smiling.

Petra: Well World, we've done it! The first of three shows for the 40th World Hit Festival are now complete and I now stand here with seven winners. However, things are not over just yet. And of course, I want you all to give a round of applause to every single delegation that participated here tonight! Lots of hard work went into these entries whether they qualified or not.

The crowd cheered here, offering their support to all 15 nations as a collective.

Petra: We still have one more semi to witness before we know every single grand final qualifier. Until then, see you all. Have a safe night in Mousiki! Hvala, World! And congratulations to everyone! See you at the next semi!

The credits began to roll as the famous Izmeduan after-parties began. For the participants in the second semi-final, it was time to get ready.

by **Izmedu** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:32 pm

Placeholder to go towards the next page, this post deliberately left blank.

World Hit Festival 40 - Mousiki, Izmedu | IC Thread

World Hit Festival 40 - Mousiki, Izmedu | IC Thread

01 Lochario: Guy in Jeans ft Bjirn - Na Furis

02 Kalosia: Luisa Martineti - Ja

03 Natanya: Urddasol - For Now

04 Estogium: Viv Rumie - Forgotten

05 Llalta: Esther Winterbourne - Free

06 Cleaca: LT - Cosneolta

07 Fromulya: Arum Dawoh - Sakit

08 Normandy and Picardy: L'Etrangere - Le Cadran Casse

09 Rusmailica: Nidija Janka & The Cinnamon Stores - Дождливы

10 Lactatia: Martinique von Cooch - That's How You Suck a Di

11 Darkmania: Torbjørn - En Dag Til?

12 Todaskakys: Synsekai - Vyyku

13 Ascion: AJAX - 행복감

14 Adab: Shamsi Ara - I'm On Your Side

15 Euskirribakondara: Alia Monkada - Obi

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