World Hit Festival 40 - Mousiki, Izmedu | IC Thread

by **Izmedu** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:06 am

20:00 IZMEDUAN TIME

Forty editions. Forty contests. Forty displays of music. Forty demonstrations of culture.

This was the number that Izmedu and RTI contemplated as they took on the job of hosting the ruby anniversary of the World Hit Festival. It was a time filled with contemplation, celebration, and excitement. The festival was growing from strength to strength, with the Izmeduan overseership weathering through an increase in participants as well as RTI further maturing in their hosting capabilities. Additionally, the start of WHF40 was also an end of an era for the overseership. It would also be the time where RTI were prepared to pass on the overseership to a new nation. Just as WHF40 would cap an end to the 30s, WHF40 was looking forwards to a new beginning.

Deciding to focus more on the experience rather than the vast size of the audience in comparison to the previous hosting in Gralicna, the contest in Mousiki was 11,000 people strong within in the audience. Coming from all walks of life, from many nations, and from all musical cultures. Tonight, they converge together for one purpose... To make unforgettable moments, unforgettable music, and an unforgettable contest.

History had already been made through the introduction of semi-finals. Two shows have already been produced to create the World Hit Festival experience. 30 delegations have sent entries to Mousiki, but only 15 still stand...

Let's make some music in Mousiki...

OPENING SEQUENCE: MUSIC IS HOPE
Alajbeg Productions – Renewal
Tune: Nick Murray ft. Juliet Lyons - Hopes and Dreams

0:00-0:34
The full World Hit Festival 40 logo was displayed on the screen as the first object viewers could see after a limited animation of its formation. When the opening theme commenced, the logo began to fade bit by bit as a 'drawing' of Mousiki in the form of abstract musical notes that formed to a city on the white-gray background began to form. Those musical notes would begin to form some of the major landmarks of Mousiki. The music would only remain at a stable note, letting itself build as the camera closed in one of the landmarks (the wall that guarded Mousiki). In the close-up, the wall seemed to be made of a mosaic of words that consisted of every single city name that hosted the World Hit Festival, starting with Necrobrachlesh.

0:34-1:06
During this 32 second interval, each city name would have 3 seconds to flash as the camera slowly panned from left to right. Necrobrachlesh would follow first, to then Praetoria, Amalker, and then all the way down to Tikuna. Each contest would have their chance to shine through an artistic rendering of a significant moment that happened within them, usually their winner. In Necorbrachlesh's case, we could see Khanstan's winner, Revenge on the World, take home WHF trophy, and so on and so forth. The music began to further build a little bit more, with the hue being a white-blue at 34 seconds to 49 seconds to symbolize Saintrabina being the overseer. At the 50 second mark, the hue that coated the background turned into a baby blue and orange hybrid to represent Euskirribakondara.

1:07-1:40
At this section, World Hit Festivals 11 through 20 would be represented. The music began to intensify in further detail, a background section of violin beginning to swirl in intensity. From here, we can see an abstraction of the city of Ceso in Folkand, then other significant moments in The Atlammes, Kingsley Bedford, Vampirum, and all the way down to Senmeri. At the section from between Vampirum and Titaniumland, the background changed from Euskirribakondara's national colors to Kalosia's, a dark blue hue now signifying Kalosia's overseership. WHF19 was especially given some special attention here, seeing as it is seen as WHF truly beginning to define itself. Nani's win was forwarded with Senmeri's hosting of the 20th anniversary. There was a pause at the 1:39 mark when Small Lords won...

1:40-2:14
There was then a bang to Picard's hosting of the 21st World Hit Festival. We then moved forward to Frigidekasai, New Sarum, Caen, and then all the way down Vodiznad for the 30th edition. The music began to swell further, with an added drum beat to the background that added more heft to the moments that were present. Paola Amadin's win for Kalosia was represented, as was the duel between Zoran Saldo and Rigas Jengiz in Monterra. These moments were accentuated by the ever-building instrumentation, with horns being added for dramatic effect. At the 30th edition, the hue changed from a dark blue to a forest green, representing Izmedu's turn at the overseership.

2:14-2:48
The last 34 seconds would represent the current era of the World Hit Festival. This was the climax of the song, the main leitmotif of the festival. This would play when Mousiki and Harrikes were represented, with Nadija Djokanovic and Samira both being represented in succession. Moments such as Cosneolta's win in Avranches, Mercedini's win in Vodiznad, and more would continue to be represented as the song kept swelling to an even further climax. As the song kept rising, transitioning from Orkendrem to the host city, Mousiki... There was silence as as the image now stood on a drawing of Mousiki itself, fading into black.

2:48-3:34
At the song's long outro, the music note logo began to materialize on the screen in a gold and black fashion, before the gray-white background appeared once more. The camera would zoom into that music note, revealing the live audience in a cinematic fashion. The camera would roam around the arena at the song's outro, fading into black as the logo of the 40th World Hit Festival was once more super-imposed on the screen.

At the theme's conclusion, large crowd cheering can be heard. A haunting sound came over the arena, causing the lights and stage to flicker white for a brief moment. Due to this flickering, two figures were revealed to be standing near the stage for just a brief moment. Those two seemingly looked unrecognizable, especially with the way the atmosphere seemed almost too surreal from the sounds that were being emitted from the stage. Those sounds would eventually cease, until a familiar tune to the Izmeduan audience began to play, and a familiar face would appear...

OPENING ACT I
Lana Vukusic & Sandra Susa – Paradise
Tune: Amy Lee & Francesca Michielin - Love Exists/L'amore esiste (Mashup)

A whoosh would course through the stage in the Majcena Foruma as a woman with a familiar look stepped forward. That woman was standing at the center of the main stage near the exposed left shell (both were currently exposed, revealing an orchestra lying in wait). The piano surrounding the opening act coincided with a slowly intensifying spotlight on this figure. The camera faded to a close view of that figure, until a soft 'bang' would reveal who she was. On the stage was Lana Vukusic the winner of the 39th World Hit Festival. Though the crowd cheer had to be muffled on broadcast, she smiled warmly at the home crowd.

Contobom sentirem bav
Kao padam u tvoje rake
Nema više le strahove
Nema više pol i suze
Jamo mi cre je-api
Biti istinit sebi
Zbog tebe, mogu voljeti
Nađem mogućnost i loica

She sang this first verse much the same way she would when she was in Orkendrem. She was a little bit more liberatory with her movements as she wasn't restricted by being behind a microphone stand. She looked up, the adoration in her eyes still as intense and loving as ever as was required for the song. Lana looked sideways towards the direction of the other side of the stage, with the camera focusing mostly on close-up shots of her singing. By the end of the verse, Lana can be seen smiling as a spotlight shone quickly on another woman, who would pick up quickly on what Lana had done with the verse.

When we are together
There is no darkness or fear
In our unity
Our hands, lips, and souls as one
We are unstoppable
In our loving embrace

The new singer, Sandra Susa, sang the first chorus with deeper yet equally warm tone that Lana carried from the original performance. Sandra was the lead singer of popular Izmeduan band, Grupa Grobnica, and released an English-language interpretation of Lana's winner. Specifically just for the opening act, both versions of the songs would be combined. Throughout this, the camera would focus closely on Sandra, as she was injecting and putting in as much passion in her vocals as possible. The orchestra behind her was hard at work trying to make sure to account for both arrangements of the song.

I've dreamed for so long
To be truly yours
A dream I once thought foolish
Now becomes so real
I share this life with you
Every moment
From a simple loving kiss
To our vows and promises

Sandra approached Lana as they both walked forward towards the edge of the main stage. She sang this verse again with that warm tone of hers, the light shining a warm yellow in reflection of the mood of the song. The camera would focus primarily on Sandra as she sang. From her expression, it was clear that she, like Lana, had someone in mind as she sang this verse. By the second half of the verse, she turned around to face Lana with a smile, who smiled back with her. The lights began to swell from the warm yellow to a brighter color, reflecting the same palette that was used in Orkendrem,

El paradais je tvoj cre
El paradais je tvoj mir
Trebam te mi ljubauri
Trebam te bliže meni
El paradais je ovdje
I mi paradais je te

The camera zoomed over softly from Sandra to Lana as she passionately sang the original Izmeduan chorus. She held one hand out towards the audience as she belted out the lyrics, the lights swirling to a bright yellow as well as the stage itself beginning to be lined with a pastel yellow light. Her eyes were closed for some parts as she matched the original intensity of her performance, with Lana having to step back a couple of times. The camera maintained its close view, lingering on Lana until the transition to the middle eight.

This happiness I feel
I refuse to sacrifice
If you fade, my heart would be trapped in sorrow
Stojim ovdje za-con vas
I fight for you

The camera faded to a view of Sandra as she sang these lines equaling Lana's passion. The transition was a bit jarring instrumentation-wise, but Sandra was able to smoothly guide her vocal to make it contiguous. Her eyes were closed as she sang the third line, her face looking towards Lana's as she sang it. Once that third line was sung, the camera then interposed a close up of Lana's face next to Sandra's, with her singing the one Izmeduan line. In here, the piano did a bit of a flourish to mark the transition. When Sandra sang the last line of the middle eight, the camera view faded back to a close up view of Sandra, with the song beginning to intensify once more.

You are heaven
You are my grace
You are paradise
An existence that I need
It is for you I breathe
And you give me hope

At this chorus, the camera focused on Sandra as she belted the lyrics out passionately. The lights still pulsed a bright and light yellow to Sandra's arrangement of the song. Her deeper tone provided a contrast to Lana's more emotionally intense delivery, but she still kept the same passion that Lana exuded. She looked at the audience as she sang, smiling warmly at the fourth and fifth lines. At the end of the chorus, she looked at Lana and both re-joined, putting their arms across each other for a few seconds.

In your arms I feel safe
Each day I look forward
To be around your presence
Just even being with you
Creates a profound joy
That I can't resist
With you I can now let go
Of the demons inside me

The instrumentation calmed down at the advent of Sandra's English verse, with the lights pulsing to the soft beat that was on the background. Sandra sang with a tone of contemplation and desire, with Lana looking at her with a smile. Midway through the verse, both women began to walk their way separate verse, with Sandra walking on the left walkway, with Lana on the right. The camera would fade between both women throughout the verse, to which they were both re-united at the satellite verse once Sandra sang the final line of the verse. The instrumentation took a pause, with the orchestra prepared to take an intermediary between Lana and Sandra's arrangemens.

El paradais je tvoj cre
El paradais je tvoj mir
Trebam te mi ljubauri
Trebam te bliže meni
You are heaven
You are my love

For this hybrid chorus, the instrumentation was pared back to allow for their voices to shine. The focus was first on Lana, as she sang the trademark chorus' first four lines directly to Sandra. At the last two lines, it would be Sandra that would finish the chorus off with as much passion and emotion she could muster. The lights would begin to shine brighter, initially being dark at the start at the chorus before beginning to coalesce into the original array of yellow lights from earlier.

El paradais je tvoj cre
El paradais je tvoj mir
Trebam te mi ljubauri
Trebam te bliže meni
El paradais je ovdje
I mi paradais je te

The chorus was repeated once more, with Lana reprising the full Izmeduan chorus. The array of lights between Lana and Sandra were flashing at their highest intensity, representing the climax of the song. Sandra would begin to engage with the crowd, holding some audience member's hands as Lana was letting loose her vocals. At the end, both women put their arms across each other, wanting to be united for the final seconds of the song.

I stand for you
I fight for you
Stojim ovdje za-con
I fight for you

The instrumentation took a conclusory bent, with the camera zooming out for a much wider, if almost cinematic view, of the stage. At the song's outro, Sandra would sing the first two lines, looking at Lana and the crowd. Lana would sing the third line and Sandra would close out the song. A haunting sound came over the arena as the Izmeduans cheered for their opening act. There wasn't much chance for either to say a thank you as the Majcena Foruma was immediately encased in darkness.

In past Izmeduan World Hit Festivals, this would be the time where a booming voice would welcome either the host or hostess of the World Hit Festival. In here, there was a slight extended silence, leaving some to wonder if either the show organizers were running late or if something different was planned. It would be the latter. The sound of rumbling thunder began to encase the stage as white lights would flicker, where astute eyes could see Sandra and Lana quickly rushing backstage. An image of a woman began to appear on the screen, one who looked familiar to Izmeduan eyes as a TV personality and even more importantly, as a famous singer.

That woman's name was Petra Krznar.

OPENING ACT II
Petra Krznar – The Power of Song
Tune: Zlata Ognevich - Magic Story (RPed to 4:55)

The image of Petra appeared on the screens only for a brief second before dramatic horns would sound and an electronic sound came whooshing through the arena. This was timed with a massive crowd cheer, especially from the home crowd who were all but too elated to find out who their hostess finally was. A spotlight began to shine on Petra, as the stage was lit up in variations of the Izmeduan national colors (focusing mostly on the blues and greens). She began to hum, her hands clasped together tightly. The lights were sensitive to harming, dim at first as she kept her register low...

Ju sentirem...
Ju sentirem...

In the interim, a children's chorus (hidden backstage for now) began to sing these two lines in the intervening period where she kept humming. The camera circled around her slowly as the spotlight on her intensified, revealing the rather intricate dress she was wearing. As she kept singing higher, the lights would intensify, with the background screens also brightening as well as they were currently displaying an image of the various cities that hosted the World Hit Festival, almost mirroring the opening graphic package from the opening theme. As Petra hit her highest note, the lines that dotted the stage began to pulse in the national colors of various countries that were participating. When she finished this section of the song, Petra dramatically stepped back as a troupe of dancers in traditional Izmeduan clothing began to envelop the stage, performing a dance that was reminiscent of traditional Izmeduan dancing but with choreography that was adjusted for a more strenuous performance.

Sentireš li la snaga
Sentireš li la cazba
Vidiš li nuestra ritam
Vidiš li nuestra futra

A background singer from that troupe would sing these lines, with the frenetic camerawork focusing more on that singer and the troupe of dancers behind him. It was delivered quickly, almost becoming a blink and you'll miss it moment. As soon as that singer was done, the camera focused on the dancers performing to their strenuous routine. With a troupe of 15 dancers currently on the stage, they stayed tight and in-sync to the almost aggressive choreography they were doing, with the camera cinematically rotating and panning to match the frenetic performance. At the end of the dancers' routine, the 15 split into groups of 7 and 8 at each half of the stage, making way for Petra's re-appearance. The lights went from frenetic flashing to a bright white.

I feel alive through song
Melodies give me life
Give me life
This power of song
To empower our spirits
Let's make music

Petra had her arms outstretched for the first line of this verse. Her voice boomed and swelled, keeping in pace with the epic mood of the song. She walked forward as the verse progressed, holograms of past WHF moments appearing right around her as that was reflected right on the screen. Interspersed with WHF history (with holograms of Samira, Paola Amadin, Mademoiselle, and other winners appearing) was also the theme of the contest. Abstract music notes would also flash at the screens behind Petra and on the stage floor. These holograms would disappear at the end of the verse, where the dance troupe was right behind Petra.

Neka glazba flora
Neka glazba flora
Infloara
Cantamo con gauda
Neka glazba flora

For the first four line of this chorus, the children's choir would let their vocals take center stage as Petra would belt out key lines as she led the dance troupe. Intricate choreography was performed as the dancers behind her were at work in keeping their movements in-sync yet daring. Petra, to keep her vocals in line, was performing a much lighter version of the choreography. The camera cut between shots of either Petra or the dancers, until the camera settled to Petra at the end as she belted out the end of the chorus. The lights would darken as the music notes on the screens began to invert color, mirroring the opening theme.

At the interval, with the music softening with a whoosh (represented by Petra making a motion, causing holographic waves to appear). There were a few heartbeats as the dancers retreated backstage, being replaced by a cadre of children that were indeed the children's choir that were singing from backstage. Those children divided into two groups of eight that walked on the two runways that were connected to the smaller satellite stage. As the Majcena Foruma darkened slightly and the music paused, it was time for the outro of the song...

La snaga je unutar nas
Udiemo la glazba
Slavimo nuestra harmonija
Zajedno, stvaramo glazba
Glazba

The children's choir began singing this verse, with the camera slowly panning around them as they sang these lines in unison. The stage was lit up in a stunning array of lights, as the background screens began to show an animated abstraction of the 'creation' of music, which was affected almost in real-time by the children that sang. At the end, when they all sang 'Glazba,' the camera re-focused back on Petra for an interlude. She began to hum, walking forward as she made graceful hand and body motions that suggested the same images being shown on the screens. The children on the runways were following each of her movements.

La snaga je unutar nas
Udiemo la glazba
Slavimo nuestra harmonija
Zajedno, stvaramo glazba
Glazba

This chorus was reprised one more time, with Petra standing in place as the children sang out the song with their aria. The song had a peaceful ending, its last stretches ending with slowly fading vocals and a twinkle that coincided with the slow fading of the abstract images that formed the logo of the 40th World Hit Festival.

The crowd cheered immensely as the opening act ended. As the children's choir walked away from the stage, the camera panned to a smiling Petra, who was now standing behind a music-shaped podium and with a cue card on her hand. She smiled widely at the audience as they kept cheering like no tomorrow, with her unable to say anything for a little bit due to how passionate the majority Izmeduan crowd were being. After some crowd ushers were able to do finally quiet down the Majcena, Petra finally had her chance to speak.

Petra: Welcome to the Grand Final of the 40th World Hit Festival!!! Welcome to Mousiki, Izmedu!!!

The crowd cheered and the camera panned to a wide shot of the 11,000 strong audience. Flags of competing nations can be seen being woven around like no tomorrow.

Petra: I know we're a familiar sight by now, but welcome back! My name is Petra Krznar and I'll be your hostess tonight!

Petra: The last time we were here, the contest was celebrating its 36th iteration. How times have changed and how the World Hit Festival has grown. Tonight, we here in Mousiki and all around the world are celebrating another important milestone for the World Hit Festival. The 40th edition!

There was a crowd cheer here in response.

Petra: Now, more than ever, this contest has grown and has weathered many changes. For nations new and old, let me take you through what exactly the World Hit Festival is about. Indeed, just two nights ago we held semi-finals in the World Hit Festival for the first time since the 3rd World Hit Festival! How's that for a change? We are still making history for the festival to this day. Not only that, but this World Hit Festival marks the first time we've ever hit 30 nations in one contest.

Petra: Tonight, 15 nations stand here tonight having sent an entry under the guidance of their broadcasting nation. Indeed, your broadcaster is the one responsible for making sure you country here is well-represented tonight. Each of these entries will be performed and after they all perform, we'll engage in a voting process to find out who will be the winner of the 40th World Hit Festival and also have the privilege to host the 41st festival. Now, how about that for a prize? And of course, these entries aren't to be taken lightly. They've gone through a grueling semi-final stage where 29 nations fought for 14 spots to the grand final. They've already gone through an official World Hit Festival performance, but now, the stakes are even higher.

Petra: Of course, every nation here has sent something a little bit different. As my Izmeduan predecessors have described, an entry can manifest in multiple forms. We've had solo singers, bands, indescribable entities, some shocking entries, and some entries that have gripped the hearts and minds of viewers around the world. The possibilities are endless.

Petra: Now, I've spoken long enough. We've been in this country six times now so we know the drill. The first nation up is a veteran nation to the WorldVision Song Contest that has made waves in the World Hit Festival recently. Debuting last edition in Orkendrem, Adab is the first contestant up tonight. For a country known for Kinan Al-Salaman's memorable performances in the WorldVision Song Contest, Shamsi Ara is the main person flying the flag for Adab with the song "I'm On Your Side." Adab, it's your turn!

The cameras flashed to the stage as the first frames of the Adabian postcard began to play.

by **Izmedu** » Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:47 pm

The Official Playlist for the Grand Final of the 40th World Hit Festival

by **Izmedu** » Mon Aug 06, 2018 12:50 pm

Placeholder for the Adabian postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:17 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** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:20 pm

Placeholder for the Ethanian postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:23 pm

Tune: Billie Eilish - Bellyache

The arena was all ready for Ethane's WHF performance. The stage was dark, bar white rim lighting that lined the sides of the stage on the floor. Before the song started, footsteps could be heard on the stage - the notable clicking of high heels on the floor of the stage as Fola took her place centre-stage. 2 spotlights - 1 from her left and 1 from her right, beamed down on to her, hitting her just before they would have crossed over each other. The artist seems to be wearing an odd match of clothes, and in multiple layers as well (which has its use further into the song, but isn't really visible at this point to the regular viewer). Her clothing includes a flat-cap with 'I <3 New Sarum' on it, an eloquent white dress with ribbons and flowery patterns, and some rather large, red coloured shoes that seemed too big for her, and had rather large heels. Fola steps forward 1 step towards a microphone stand, the spotlights following her and illuminating her flowing hair and the stand, which her hands now both gripped to. She closed her eyes, as if to take a breath and relax, just before the song started, then broke out into the opening lines of this song. The camera, initially focused on the audience before the song started, switched to a close-up of Fola's face and shoulders from just before she stepped forward towards the microphone stand.

Life, life

As the music kicked off a little more after the opening line, Fola started visibly moving, tapping her foot but moving her whole body with the motion. The atmosphere on the stage also shifted, with the idea of the staging not about an individual - although a part of the message of this song is about the individual level, but is also about solidarity and commonality. Because of this idea, the staging included 4 other people on the stage, 2 guys and 2 gals, separate from each other but looking at each other across the stage. They seemed to be frozen in time, waiting almost. They were only illuminated by the addition of a wide variety of different coloured lights which illuminated different parts of the stage, creating this mis-matched jumble in the staging that seemed to contain a bit of everything almost in terms of lighting. Fola kept her eyes focused straight ahead at the audience, ignoring what was going on behind her. The camera shifted from a close-up of Fola to a more zoomed-out shot which revealed more of the stage, including the 2 males and females who were staring at each other, and the mis-matched colourful medley of lighting on the stage which wouldn't look out of place in a circus or something along those lines. It then shifted - near the end of this section - to a close-up of Fola once again, who blew a kiss out towards the audience as she sang 'a video kiss'. It felt personal, but it also felt distant.

Feeling all alone,
Ads on my phone,
A therapist.
Hugging my friends,
But only through a lens,
A video kiss.

The 4 people behind her slowly moved towards each other. They were all wearing smart clothes - of different styles and colours - but not mis-matched like Fola. They were moving forward across the stage to each other slowly and almost in robot-like movements, moving towards 2 separate intersecting points in the middle of the stage just to the left and right of Fola so they are in view of the whole audience. The camera quickly switches from a close-up of Fola to a depiction of the movements of the people behind her and their robotic movements. Alongside this, there seems to be a slightly increased and rising intensity in the coloured lighting, as well as the removal of a few colours, fading out slowly so it isn't that noticeable to the non-observant eye, but the colour count in the lighting is slowly dwindling.

Join the line,
Said I'm fine.

Moving into this section of the song, Fola loosens the microphone in the stand so that it is easier to remove when the time comes. The camera pans out from the people moving like robots to the audience via Fola, before switching to a view of the stage from the left-side of the stage. As she sings 'these shirts look funky', she rips off her dress revealing a funky coloured shirt; the kind you'd see stereotypical tourists wearing in south-east Asia to show they're 'cultured', and some slightly funky but dialled down trousers as well. She also flicks off the flat-cap, revealing a sun/baseball-style hat, worn slightly off-centre to look 'cool' and 'hip'.

A billboard by the road,
Desinged just to goad,
Give me money.
Flocking to the shop,
I'm so giddy I can't stop,
Those shirts look funky.

Fola removes the microphone phone from the stand and walks forward to the front of the stage. She stands there and looks out for a second - the camera focusing on her in a close-up shot, her hair flowing freely - before heading towards the catwalk at the left-side of the stage. The catwalk, at this point, is still completely dark as unlike the rest of the stage, the white rim lighting was not active at the start of the performance. The camera follows Fola across the stage for a short amount of time before panning back to the people on the stage walking towards each other. The gap is about half what it was before now. At this point, the lighting and Fola's clothing are no longer a complete match with more uniformity in colour; the lights mostly now restricted to primary colours and shades thereof.

Join the line,
Said I'm fine,
Have to find,
What is mine.

Fola steps out on to the catwalk and starts walking at a medium pace, while singing, towards the second stage in the centre of the two catwalks. As she surges forward, the rim lighting on each of the catwalk compartments lights up a different primary colour, leaving a pattern of colour behind Fola. As the end of the chorus nears, she reaches the central catwalk stage. She steps on to it then moves her feet, hitting each of the corners of the stage, which then light up different primary colours, with the fourth light a bright white. The camera switched back to a shot of Fola, but from the catwalk stage as she walked towards the camera. As she stepped on to the catwalk stage, the camera switched to an overhead viewpoint, showing the lighting up of the catwalk stage from above. With the more bassy music of the chorus, some of the lights are flashing on the stage as well as the rim lights.

I thought they said we were free,
But what's been left for me,
It's an expensive day.
Got bills piled on the table,
Still fighting that label,
I wanna make everyone pay.

Fola stays on the catwalk stage for this section, slowly rotating so she is singing to the whole audience. As she sings about shoes, she kicks off her shoes and they fly out into the audience, where 2 different fans clasp hold of them, cheering her on. Underneath are 2 smallish black shoes. It is obvious there are no other shoes under them. The lights have stopped flashing again. The camera is zoomed into a close-up before taking a view of the whole arena from the back.

Happy, sad, or glue?
Or get the latest shoe?
Its all for you.
Want to love, or to hate?
I can help you find a mate,
It takes 1 click.

The lighting mostly cuts out for this section of the song. Fola is absolutely still, as are the people on the stage who have now almost reached each other. Fola is staring out at the audience, her right hand holding the microphone and her left hand in the air while singing this.

Join the line,
Then just sign,
And you're fine,
It's all mine.

Fola starts bounding back to the main stage along the other side of the catwalk, with the compartments of that side also lighting up in different colours as she steps on them. The people on the stage start moving again and the lights come back on in full intensity for the chorus. A few small pyrotechnics are also launched along the sides of the catwalk and the stage. The camera switches to a view of Fola bounding along the catwalk while singing. At this point she is wearing funky trousers and shirt, and black shoes, but the cap has been removed.

I thought they said we were free,
But what's been left for me,
It's an expensive day.
Got bills piled on the table,
Still fighting that label,
I wanna make everyone pay.

Fola reaches the stage again and starts dancing amongst the other people on the stage, who seem to stop, frozen almost, while singing. The camera had kept following Fola but now zoomed out to take in the whole scene.

I thought they said we were free,
But what's been left for me,
It's an expensive day.
My life's piled on the table,
Each emotion labelled,
I wonder what's the going rate?

As soon as Fola stopped singing, her and the other people on the stage collapsed to the floor, and everything went dark apart from the coloured lights lining the catwalk. A burst of pyrotechnics ended the song, with an abrupt ending.

''Thank you World Hit Festival!!!'' Fola shouted as she and the other people on the stage stood up before exiting.

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:24 pm

Placeholder for Estogian postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:26 pm

Tune: Sabina Ddumba - I Cry

Estogium returns to the World Hit Festival after a one edition hiatus. The nation and RVC are hoping to do much better than how they have previously performed.

Estogium's returning to the World Hit Festival with Viv Rumie, who represented the last time that Estogium came to the contest. With the sassy song, "Top", Estogium only managed to reach 7th with 13 points - which put the nation in the bottom half again after World Hit Festival 36 provided Estogium an opportunity on the left hand side of the scoreboard. Viv Rumie is a pro at performing on stage, having previously doing so at the WorldVision Song Contest - with this song - and also performing at the 38th World Hit Festival. Viv was given the opportunity to perform for a second time at the 40th World Hit Festival after she managed to qualify, causing huge elation in Darlington.

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** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:32 pm

Placeholder for Saintrabina's postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:34 pm

Translation: Rock-Paper-Scissors
Tune: Josef Salvat - Open Season

The internal Saintrabinian selection revealed that the country will be represented by 32-year-old Zenobjan Grümech called Zenobye, one of the best-selling artists in the country. The song is the title single from his new album "Schere, Stein, Papier" that has been promoted widely in Folkand and abroad during "Schere, Stein, Papier und Musik" Tour. Preparations have started a long before June and include a lot of auditions and rehearsals. And finally today is the day when Saintrabina comes back with their well-prepared entry and the whole nation expects really good placing but time will tell.

Zenobye is sitting at the high chair that is situated in the centre of the main stage. We can see his profile. His right leg is hanging flippantly. His hand He wears short fair chinos and flowery shirt. Saintrabinian fans are shocked while he presents his new look with shaved head. This is the word of solidarity towards children suffering from cancer who he dedicates this song to. During the first verses the black LED screen behind him shows some golden and indigo zigzags that surround artist's silhouettes.

Ich wollte nicht, Steine werfen
Ich wollte dir dein Haar nicht schneiden
Ich wollte nicht ein Buch schreiben
Aber standen wir auf dem Brett
Und wir hatten die Würfel zu rollen
Wir mussten vorwärts gehen und spielen

Dziś muszę rzucać swe kamienie,
Tnąc twe długie włosy, rzucając na ziemię
Nie chciałem tak grać
Nie chcieliśmy tak grać
Dziś piszę książkę, trwoniąc atrament
Tworząc ze słów niewartą nic łamigłówkę
Gra nadal trwa,
Choć nie powinna już trwać

Zenobye stands up and the two choir girls and two choir boys join him having appeared out of the darkness. The girls wear loose white T-shirts, blue jeans and red high heels. The boys wears the male variant - white T-shirts, blue jeans and red trainers. The singer is going towards the audience while the choirists follow him.

Die Hände transformiere
Wie in Schere, Stein, Papier
Sie sind zart, sie können schmusen und weh tun
Ich bin bereit für deines Spiel
Obwohl du lügst, manipulierst
Kennst meine Gedanken, ich weiss nicht
Deine Methode funktioniert für mich

The choirists stand in two male-female pairs on different sides of the stage performing their dance that includes rock-scissor-paper game between them. Zenobye is at the front and sings the chorus walking close to the edge of the stage. The LED screen shows zigzags forming words "rock", "scissors" and "paper" appearing and disappearing. There are also some gifs presenting these items.

Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Aber ich zähle bis drei
Ich gebe dir meine Zeit
Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Heute will ich gewinnen
Oh, Schere, Stein, Papier

Zenobye comes back to the choirists who pretends to whispering to each others. He seems to not listen to them, makes a slalom between them while singing the second versus.

All the scissors getting blunter
All the stones turned into clay
All the papers are full written
But all their fragments blow my head
This game's not to be won
This game is to make me play
I'm in it with you but still on my own

They pose behind him putting their right hands on his thorax and showing rock, scissors and paper with their left hands to the rhythm of the pre-chorus.

Die Hände transformiere
Wie in Schere, Stein, Papier
Sie sind zart, sie können schmusen und weh tun
Ich bin bereit für deines Spiel
Obwohl du lügst, manipulierst
Kennst meine Gedanken, ich weiss nicht
Deine Methode funktioniert für mich

The choirists take the Zenobye's shirt off. He wears white T-shirt underneath. Then all of them are jumping towards the public dancing and singing the chorus.

Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Aber ich zähle bis drei
Ich gebe dir meine Zeit
Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Heute will ich gewinnen
Oh, Schere, Stein, Papier
Oh, Schere, Stein, Papier

The choirists freeze in the background for a moment. Zenobye sings the following verse with his eyes closed and passion in his strong voice. The stage starts to be filled with bright white light.

Let's play another game

Then the light is bursting and the LED screen shows the colourful zigzags again. The choirists jump and join the energetic dance behind Zenobye. It looks like a great fun to all of them. The final choruses come.

Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Aber ich zähle bis drei
Ich gebe dir meine Zeit
Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Heute will ich gewinnen
Oh, Schere, Stein, Papier

Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Aber ich zähle bis drei
Ich gebe dir meine Zeit
Ich habe nie gespielt
Weil die Regeln für mich schwierig sind
Heute will ich gewinnen
Oh, Schere, Stein, Papier
Oh, Schere, Stein, Papier

At the last verse the choirists leave the stage and the stage turns completely dark. Zenobye stands at the front showing rock-scissor-paper with his hands and then bowing to the audience being grateful for their attention.

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:35 pm

Placeholder for Todaskakys' postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:37 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** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:37 pm

Placeholder for Britonish postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:41 pm

Tune: Breathe by Fleurie

Britonisea is returning to the World Hit Festival for fourth time in a row, hoping to do very well in Izmedu.

The past few editions have been pretty successful for Britonisea in the World Hit Festival. Upon returning to the contest, Britonisea managed to come first place in Kalosia, and then when hosting the competition, came 2nd place – an unexpected 2nd too. Last edition was very interesting. The playing field suddenly increased from 11 nations to 24, which BVC found very interesting. Sending whoever came second in their hit show, Vha Mehlodhivestoile, was KAYLEY with her Britonish song, Junterapten, tipped to do very well owing to the successes of the national final songs in the World Hit Festival. She placed 6th place with 24 points. 24 points is the third highest amount of points Britonisea had received, but BVC was unsure whether 6th place was good enough for them. In a field of 24, 6th place was fantastic, but the company did scratch their heads slightly.

KAYLEY and Britonisea were very happy with the result, with her receiving praise since she returned to the country. Darkmania also received a lot of praise for hosting their first competition, a large one and also taking a liking to “Junterapten”. Overall, Britonisea had another World Hit Festival to put in to their good books. With BVC’s application to oversee the World Hit Festival, the Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin is starting to feel really comfortable participating at the World Hit Festival, but they have been warned not to be too complacent.

Since BVC has won, hosted and hosted again…the broadcaster wants to try something different to what it has done in previous editions. The BVC wanted to send something , a genre, an artist, something, that was different to the type of things that they had sent in the past. Looking through their catalogue of artists, they stumbled upon the artist, Axis, who had a very…emotional story to tell.

Axis is a 24 year old singer from Ghiez, the island of over 1 million people which is quite disconnected from the rest of Britonisea. There is a sense of “they don’t care about us over in the mainland” attitude towards the Britons, which is one of the themes behind the song being performed in the contest today. Axis’ “Stop” is about trying to play up to something or somebody who obviously has shown that they don’t care about you. It’s about self-encouragement, really. Axis has also had problems in her own life with people not taking her seriously. Her ideas were always shot down, her talent was also undermined and she had enough of it. She had even considered leaving Ghiez, leaving Britonisea all together. She thought that she would be more appreciated in another country.

She wrote this song in response to everybody who had put her down. It was a form of catharsis for her and by the end of 2016, she had wrote a few songs expressing the problem she had. Feeling small in what already seemed was a small world (Ghiez). After showing friends her song, they thought that she should really get her music out there. One of her friends suggested the World Hit Festival, a stage where you can be alternative, different and still be just as important as the rest. She pondered on it, but ending up sending her USB to BVC. She hadn’t heard anything from BVC for more than a year, until now.

“Nobody should have the right to put you down for what you do.”

-Axis

She was called by BVC to come down to their headquarters for a meeting regarding the 40th World Hit Festival. Guiltily, BVC had been considering other acts for the contest, including Kelsey Banques, who went to the WorldVision Song Contest instead. BVC thought it would be a great idea to send Axis instead of her. BVC offered to help her polish the entry with the help of Guy Autriche, a World Hit Festival winner. She accepted.

Fast forward weeks, she had landed in the land of the World Hit Festival – Izmedu. In Mousiki, she found out that she will be performing near the end of the evening, which sat quite well with her. Guy Autriche along with the rest of the Britonish Delegation went many press conferences, where she was asked about what was behind her song. One of the things that she said was “Nobody should have the right to put you down for what you do, even if they don’t like it. If you’ve put a lot of effort in to something they shouldn’t put you down. I agree that sometimes that effort can go in to the wrong this, but that doesn’t warrant somebody to totally make you feel bad about it. I love the saying ‘if you’ve got nothing good to say, don’t say anything’, because sometimes words can be hurtful. We all try.”

She is performing 6th in the Grand Final after her successful qualification in the very difficult 2nd Semi Final. At the winners press conference she stated, "I was so frightened when they were going through all of the different countries and they didn't come to Britonisea. I was thinking 'Come to me, Come to me!' But when I was called out, it was such a treat! I appreciate everybody who voted for me, and I hope I can only replicate the success of Britonisea in the past few editions at the World Hit Festival 40."

She is ready to wow her audience yet again...

Axis walked on to the stage during the postcard of Britonisea of this World Hit Festival. While people were watching everything that was happening on the screens, she quickly took position and took a deep breath. The performance was quite intricate, in the fact that there needed to be shadow on her face at all times and then at the end of the performance, when she is lifted in to the air, she has to walk over the audience pit and will end her performance in the air, on top of the satellite stage. She wasn’t wearing anything too fancy. She had her arms bear, but was wearing a silver(ish) vest and professional looking silver)ish trousers. She had a big silver bow where her vest met her trouser which made her look cute even though her face was blackened out by a shadow. She audience applauded as Britonisea’s postcard finished – all of the crew ran off the stage in the hope of not being captured during the performance.

Similarly to the picture above, at the start of the performance Axis was standing in the middle of the stage with her face over like such. The back wall was currently off, all that was lit up with Axis. The camera held it’s position on her face and she held her position on the stage. She raised the microphone to her face slowly and started singing the first verse of the song. She started tilting her head along with the music as she begun to sing.

You put me down,
Made me so weak
I don’t understand why.

After singing that first part, the fog machines were turned on. It took some time for the people at home to notice that the fog machines had turned on, but during the next part of the first chorus, you could see that the smoke was lingering in to the screen – coming in front and behind her. She didn’t move position though and her head was still swaying from the left to the right; still singing the song that she was there to sing.

I spent so long trying
To make myself perfect,
To make myself worth it

After singing “worth it”, the texture of the song slowly grew, with the sounds of the string instrument coming in. The backing wall quickly flashed white before fading back to black at the loud “boom” sound right before she starting singing the pre-chorus of the song. She didn’t walk anywhere, though and her face was still blackened for anybody to see. The wind machines were also gently on her and anybody could notice this through her hair slowly being blown over her shoulders. The LED flashed white again at the second “boom” sound at the end of this part of the pre-chorus.

For too long you’ve shot me down.
And now I have a gaping hole,
Inside my heart – I’m still bleeding.

For too long I have played,
Your game and I have lost.
I’m hurting, I’ve got to…

Axis raised the hand that had been out of shot from the start of the song upwards, facing her palm to the camera at “I’m hurting”. Axis tilted her head to the right, but keeping in that position for the rest of the pre-chorus. The audience around her was swaying along to the song, wondering what would come of the chorus. Though, the first chorus was merely just a warm up for the rest of the song and wasn’t going to promise anything too extravagant.

The camera moved outwards slowly, revealing her whole body to those who are watching the television. Still, her face was hidden by the shadow covering her face. The audience at home could see how she blended very well in to the staging, with the fog now covering the main part of the stage. She still hadn’t moved just yet, but she was about to. There were certain parts of the stage that was flickering, similar to camera lights going off in the arena. People were unsure whether it was a part of the stage act or not. It fit in well.

Stop… Stop… Stop…
Stop… Stop… Stop…

Stop.

At the end of the first chorus, the audience at home were treated to a full body image. The audience in the stadium could be heard cheering a tiny bit when Axis started walking forwards right to the end of the main stage. The audience who were located in the pit could be seen swaying their mobile phones amongst the darkness of the arena.

There was a clever shot done on the satellite stage, where a man riding a hover board had a steadicam on his back. He hovered from one side of the satellite stage to the other, facing Axis as she walked forward in to the sea of stars. She started to touch the side of her face with the hand that wasn’t holding the microphone. Somebody who was behind the scenes was quietly whispering the words “Stop” into the microphone as Axis walked forwards.

(Stop. Stop)
You’ll hate the outcome of this,
I hope you will burn with anger.
Like I have been,
Burn like I have been.

There was a mid shot of her singing during the verse that had just gone. The camera was coming from many different angles, but they were always mid shots and none of them were moving shots either. She stood in one place, doing simple gestures as she sang on and on. When singing “I have been” at the end of that verse, she raised her hand in to the air as she sang “been” at a higher pitch than she should have.

Bruises you’ve left me with,
Have been left untreated,
I’m hurting, I’ve got to…

Similarly to the first time we went from the pre-chorus to the main chorus, the mid-shot then zoomed outwards for all of the people at home to see what was happening on the stage. The light panels along each of the triangular bits of the stage all lit up like a wave before going back to darkness. Axis’ right had lit up first before it flew its way to the left. The lights around the stage were also doing something similar too – a domino effect of lights.

Stop… Stop… Stop…
Stop… Stop… Stop…

Stop.

The whole of The Majcena Foruma plunged in to darkness for a split second when there wasn’t any of the instrumentation. However, as soon as the drums rolled in and the rest of the instruments did, Axis was thrust around seven metres in to the air and as she was, she looked upwards towards the rigs at the top of the arena. As she was thrust up in to the air, the only shades that remained on the stage was hues of grey, white and black and the lights in the arena flickered on and off in an almost psychedelic manner – like there was massive thunderstorm happening outside.

The cameras were showing what was happening from afar, making the audience at home able to capture everything that was happening. The lights in the arena that was flickering on and off came from every corner of the arena – a real feast for the eyes as Axis’ silver jumpsuit reflected all of the light that was coming her way. A few times, the camera flickered to a close up of her and as she rose 7 metres in to the air, the camera showed her face – full of tears and hurt she had faced in her past life. She felt as though she is getting her moment of catharsis – her moment to rid all the pain she had on the stage in Izmedu.

Stop. Stop.
Stop…

Stop. Stop.
Stop…

She then started to move herself away from the stage. The audience watched Axis seamlessly flying over The Majcena Foruma, not caring about anybody who was under her. The camera shots caught her trailing her way through the arena by air from many different angles; changing which angle at least every two beats of the song. The shots, however, were quite wobbly in order to add to the performance even more to try and create a dysfunctional aura surrounding the performance.

As she made her way across the arena, she was tearful, but she had to keep going as this was her moment to shine. The lights were following her around the stage and as we had gotten further and further from the stage, the intensity of the lights following her only grew.

Stop

At the last roll of the drum, everything flashed white and then went suddenly dark. However, right in the middle of the arena, where Axis was located, all of the spotlights in the arenas were focused on her. She was still looking upwards – she hadn’t really moved an inch since she was flung that high up in to the air. Over the audience she was – a beacon inside the darkness of the arena. She was a lot happier after this performance than she was during the Semi Final. The audience knew to just come in to applaud and she game in, "Thank you everybody, thank you Izmedu!" she screamed in to the microphone as the next nation's postcard started.

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:42 pm

Placeholder for the Izmeduan postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:45 pm

Translation: Cold Rain
Tune: Pravila Igre - Muška suza

“Maybe I'm being too bitter... Maybe I'm just letting my heart take over my head. I don't know what's going on with me... But I hate losing what means the most to me for no reason other than I lost someone for being myself. When you find that what you thought you could take for granted is slowly crumbling. I thought this song would've been therapy. It was and it wasn't. It made me realize how much I was lying to myself and how much I don't know about other people. It made me realize... Still... That no matter how much I think I'm wise, I'm still a kid... Guess that's why I can never move forward, huh?” - Zoran Milos

Zoran Milos felt like his world was crashing as Axis was performing on stage. There was just too many opportunities to get stressed out just from even sitting in the green room in the Majcena. There was the thought of having to perform for his own country, one that he hadn't thought would be this overwhelming until he realized that his performance slot was closing in. There was another contemplating the song itself, of which his head was consumed by the divided Izmeduan media reaction to Hladna pluaya. There was the thought of the song's circumstances itself, causing him to have to take a deep breath and stop himself form having a full-on panic attack. However, if one were to look on from the outside, Zoran looked awfully calm. In fact, he looked at peace with the fact of performing. The head of delegation saw Zoran's distant behavior and lay a gentle shoulder on him as Alia entered the last minute of her song.

He was a 23 year old singer barely making it into the industry. Right at the cusp of the 'ideal age bracket' that most Izmeduan labels liked to work with, Zoran himself was a bit of an enigma. Most of his personal background was one where music never quite fit into the picture. Instead, he was born into a household where he was forced to live without much hope of any stable parents or friendships. He was born to a single father who divorced from his birth mother fairly quickly. This caused Zoran, as a young child, to have to endure a custody battle to which he knew his first conscious memories were of shuffling between two parents' households. Eventually, his father claimed full custody of him.

While he staked out a comfortable if emotionally awkward existence during his teenage years, it was what he faced in his mind that got to him. The lack of a mom in his life as well as a distant father caused Zoran to have to develop much of his own mores and values. The problem? Zoran was heavily reliant, if not staked his entire existence, on the perceptions of other people. In no uncertain terms, Zoran was a walking tabula rasa who would have no idea of what it meant to be himself. This caused Zoran to be an easy target of emotional manipulation and blackmail, as he relied upon friendships to foster a stable sense of self and a core to which he can some sort of existence. However, this sense of self was often fragile, easily broken and easily changed from person to person.

It wasn't until Zoran became older, at 18, and met a close friend of his that allowed him to foster a sense of self that was truly tied to who he was. This was his inroad to finding his true passion, music. Throughout his secondary education, Zoran thought that he'd stake out a stable if passive living as some sort of accountant in Izmedu (knowing they're in high demand due to the country's still struggling finances). However, Zoran knew that he didn't at all want that kind of life. He knew intellectually that it would be a far safer route to a stable future where he could quickly establish independence and try to live away from his family as quickly as possible. However, it didn't satisfy him internally. It didn't give him the intrinsic happiness that he knew he needed.

That close friend of his was someone who led local rock band in his city of origin, Vodiznad. His name was Vedran, someone who dropped out of high school at the age of 16 simply just to have more time to go and support his passions in music. Zoran, either faced with the choice to go into a business school or to take a risk, was inspired by what he saw in Vedran. After a month of rumination as well as a pivotal argument with his father which would see Zoran be faced with the reality of homelessness, Zoran decided to listen to his gut... He forged a friendship with Vedran and joined his band as a backing vocalist. Initially, his inroads to music were rocky. While Zoran was found to have some raw talent as a singer, his songwriting and contribution chops left much to be desired. Additionally, his inclusion caused some of the local fans of Vedran's band to not be entirely pleased with the new member.

However, Zoran kept pushing on. He forged a very close friendship with Vedran to which he allowed the novice singer and artist to find time to foster his identity. He was slow to get used to the band life and being on the road around Vodiznad, frustrating many of Vedran's other friends in the band and with a hidden resentment of him being 'the load.' However, Vedran kept holding faith that Zoran would one day bloom into someone that could surpass even himself. As Zoran turned 20, Vedran's vision would become just a bit more true. Zoran began to formulate his own sense of artistic identity, taking charge of interpreting the band's songs versus just merely singing them as covers. He began to develop a distinct, yet if still amorphous style of singing. Zoran was an emotional singer at his core, albeit if still overly reliant on Vedran.

This friendship would go from strength to strength until Zoran turned 21. As Zoran was reminiscing about his journey to the World Hit Festival, he felt his brain stop at around the time he'd begin to construct “Hladna pluaya” for Izmepisma. He looked on as Axis sang her last note on “Stop,” with her saying “Thank you Izmedu!” making his mind finally confront what he was he bringing to the World Hit Festival. He knew he was like his Izmeduan predecessors, bringing to them a loss to the stage. In this case... He'd lost Vedran. Not to death. Not to loss of contact. He'd lost a friend the same way one realizes an uncomfortable truth. He'd lost Vedran after realizing that maybe he hadn't known his friend quite as well as he knew he should've.

The way he lost Vedran was from a simple conversation when he turned 21. A conversation about the band's future turned to Vedran ranting about his deep-seated grievances and problems with the band to Zoran. To which Zoran was more than happy to receive them. However, as Zoran tried to navigate the problem, Vedran was resistant to Zoran's attempts to try and see a brighter side. Either way, Zoran made a comment about how he himself felt similar, to which Vedran didn't really react to it at first. However, Vedran said something that would cause Zoran to take on the course of being solo artist and re-evaluate the way he perceived life and other people... To writ, Vedran had said “you think you know me, but you don't. All this time, I realized that you don't know me as well as you should've.”

Zoran didn't remember how he reacted. He was driven home by Vedran, not really processing anything that was said after. It was when he got back to his apartment that Zoran started to quickly write “Hladna pluaya.” With the song written in a flash, with Zoran remembering being in a constant stream of heightened emotional distress. He had no idea just how exactly the song came out except as a cathartic release of the pain he'd been harboring within his mind. It was the words that he desperately wanted to say, but found no proper outlet for until he sat down and wrote his emotions out in song form.

It was a raw product to be sure. He took an even bigger risk by letting his membership in Vedran's band naturally fade until he was phased out. He tried his luck in Izmepisma and came close to clinching the title, losing only to the Izmeduan powerhouse that was Sabina Vidas. In either case, Zoran was relieved. He felt he wasn't ready for the WorldVision stage. The deal concerning the World Hit Festival was a blessing, as Zoran was afforded more time to prepare himself both physically and mentally

When it came to for him to perform, Zoran took a deep breath and closed his eyes...

Maybe you'll see this, maybe you won't, I don't know...

Stage lights billowed down to the center at the advent of the host entry, flashing in the Izmeduan colors before darkening. Izmeduans were cheering like no tomorrow for their home act. The two shells would be exposed, with Izmedu bringing in both a live band and orchestra to play the song live. The band would be backstage, while a 20-person orchestra would dot the two sides of the stage that the shells would normally be hiding. Zoran would be standing at the center of the main stage, looking down and clutching the microphone tightly for dear life. At the start of the entry, a single spotlight shone on Zoran as the camera was affixed to a side profile view of his face shrouded in the darkness. The sound of thunder would reverberate throughout the arena before fading into a lonely piano that filled the Majcena Foruma, initially being muffled by the crowd cheer before the Izmeduan crowd quieted down. This piano would continue only for a few more seconds, before the spotlight intensified on Zoran. His expression was visibly blank, a latent sadness in his eyes as he was prepared to put the microphone near his mouth. He began to sing...

Mi cre je-sti amar, izgubio sam amaik
Amaikstvo mislila sam da je neraskidiva
Mi se cre razbija, ju ne mogu prestati
Maje emocije i maje mrake misle

He sang directly to the camera for the first verse. The first two lines were bare, with only the piano accompanying his emotional vocal as his blank expression contorted to one of emotion. He looked like a man finally able to put his pain into articulation, with the walls he'd built up finally beginning to break down. He reached his hands towards the camera at the second line, before it faded to a slightly wider view of the stage for the latter half of the verse. In there, a dark blue light hue began to coat the Majecna Foruma's stage, with the screens beginning to show an image of a window going through a rainy storm. It was only rain droplets at first, their appearance being timed to the band that began to play along to the piano. Zoran began to step forward a little bit as the chorus progressed to its end, beginning to put a hand to his head and frantically looking down in reflection of the lyrics.

Gdje je pogrešno?
Što sam učinio?

The camera faded to a close up view of Zoran for the brief hook into the chorus. He held a hand to his chest as the orchestra and band were hard at work to set the mood of the song. By the end of the hook, the lights in the Majcena Foruma would darken instantly sans the effects on the screen. Zoran had his face and expression downwards for the microsecond pause.

Plesao sam u la hladnu pluayu
Sakriti maje suze i mi bol od tebe
Jer znam abandonio si me con-ne fiar
Nemam nikoga mui se kriviti za pogreške

The Majcena Foruma was coated in an even more intense dark blue hue as the song roared to life in its ruminating despair and sadness-induced confusion. His vocals were beginning to be pushed to its limits as he put in every ounce of emotion of writing the song into his performance. The camera kept close to Zoran as he was singing to either the ceiling or the audience, depending on where his eyes would land and where his hands would be motioning towards. At the start of the chorus, light but subtle holographic rain effects would begin to appear on the stage, making it look like to a trained eye that there was a shower of rain or aquatechnics that threatened to douse the stage and ruin the electronics. Even if it phased through Zoran, the camerawork kept up the illusion that it was directly hitting Zoran, making it look like he was truly reliving the lyrics on the stage. At the end of the chorus, he was in full-on emotional throttle, his free hand gripped into a tight fist and his eyes almost watering. He ended the chorus with his face staring into the ceiling, the blues and grays accentuating the emotions that Zoran was expressing.

Mui jamo
Ispričam za maje pogreške

With this brief hook into the second chorus, Zoran embedded it with as much emotion as he could muster. Even if he was standing still in place, the camera again took a close view of him that presented the immensity of his emotions right down to the expressions and movements. The rain effects were still on-going, only intensifying up to the point where holograms of rain puddles began to be visible on the stage floor. At the end of the hook, Zoran looked up into the ceiling, the camera staying static as the rain only intensified. This view would last during the instrumental interlude. The band and orchestra swelled to an emotional climax of their own, with the orchestra ending on their own high note before quieting down as a transition to the second chorus.

Mi cre je inviarno, preblizu el-u smrti
Reci ti meni da ju sam glup, slab, i kratast
Ju nisam poznavao, pogrešno sam shvatio te
Prekasno

For the second verse, Zoran was beginning to take a walk around the stage. He'd go on one of the catwalks, keeping his pace steady to make sure that his vocals were not compromised. The camera would continually follow him as he walked on one of the catwalks, keeping a side view as the spotlight on him illuminated the perpetual rain effects. Additionally, the screen effects on the floor also kept displaying the perpetually falling and almost borderline heavy rain. The screens behind the orchestra, were still displaying the rainfall-affected window graphics. By the end of the third line, Zoran reached the smaller stage that was connected by the catwalks. The lights would darken and the rain would stop, as the camera faded to darkness as 'Prekasno' was sang by a background vocalist. Zoran took a step back, taking a brief deep breath in preparation for the chorus...

Plesao sam u la hladnu pluayu
Sakriti maje suze i mi bol od tebe
Jer znam abandonio si me con-ne fiar
Nemam nikoga mui se kriviti za pogreške

At the start of the chorus, the camera took a much wider view as the lights in the Majcena flashed in an array of dark blue hues and whites. This served to strongly illuminate the main stage, but with the smaller satellite being kept darkened. The camera took a much wider view this time, taking on a cinematic swoop as Zoran passionately sang the chorus with an even more intense fervor. The rain effects surrounding Zoran became heavier, almost drowning him in virtual rain as he made movements that let out his emotions. With one hand to his chest, his eyes closed, and almost visibly straining to make sure that he didn't overpower himself with too much passion. At times, he would almost be singing to the audience directly, getting close to the edge of the stage to the point where fans could reach for him.

Mi se cre razbija, ju ne mogu prestati
Maje emocije i maje mrake misle
Gdje je pogrešno, što sam učinio?
Plesao sam u la hladnu pluayu
Prekasno

For the bridge, which was made up of parts of earlier verses, Zoran changed the intensity of his vocals from the pure out belting to a more contemplative tone. He paused his dramatic movements, taking a step back as the camera closed in on him once more. The first two lines saw Zoran still deliver a slight intensity. The lights still swirled around him as Zoran's tone and delivery began to lessen. By the second line, the lights slowed down to a crawl and darkened, leaving only a dark spotlight on Zoran. The camera faded to a close view on him at the third line, as he sang that specific line straight to the camera. The emotional intensity was now far more inward, a more outward tone of rumination and reflection. He closed his eyes at the end of the third line, now going towards the trademark chorus line of the song as a transition to the final chrous. He hummed slightly after the end of the fourth line, closing his eyes as the camera zoomed in on his eyes. During this brief interlude, the camera would simultaneously fade to a few parts of the orchestra, imposing themselves over Zoran's face until fading. At 'Prekasno,' once more sung by a background singer, his eyes would open.

Plesao sam u la hladnu pluayu
Sakriti maje suze i mi bol od tebe
Jer znam abandonio si me con-ne fiar
Nemam nikoga mui se kriviti za pogreške

This was the song's end-game, one minute of Zoran's most passioante vocals. For the chorus, the holographic rain effects strengthened almost to the point where it looked like the stage and some of the audience were being doused in water. Zoran stretched his vocals to the limit, almost looking like as if he was about to keel over when he was belting out the second line. His body slightly writhed and convulsed from the intensity he was placing on his vocals, having to stand in place for a second before launching himself into another set of movements for the latter half of the chorus. Zoran was now standing at the center of the satellite stage, the camera taking a mid distance view that again re-accentuated the falling rain upon him.

Ne mogu stati le suze
Hladna pluaya
Jer znam abandonio si me con-ne fiar
Nemam nikoga mui se kriviti za pogreške

This was the final part of the song, with Zoran belting out the first line before going tender with his vocal tone. The camera was now making cinematic fades between him and the orchestra, who were keeping pace with the live band backstage. At the final line, Zoran belted these lines with the same intensity as before. This time, the camera focused more on close ups. He clutched his chest once more, making sure to control his breathing as the most intense parts of the song were coming to their quick conclusion. When he sung the last line, the lights darkened as only a drizzle of rain was left. The final shot of him was looking up, humming the song to its end. The camera would zoom out away to slowly reveal the entire arena. Once the final note between singer, orchestra, and band was performed, the lights darkened and the entry was finished.

Zoran took a deep breath and looked at the crowd with a bit of a smile. "Hvala," he said in a soft tone.

He wasn't sure if what he did would be worth it at the end, but he felt more at peace with his conscience more than ever. Zoran knew there would be a fallout after this catharsis, there always was.

I don't know if you're watching, but now you know how I feel.

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:48 pm

Placeholder for the Kalosian postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:49 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 Cleacan entry.

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:51 pm

Placeholder for Cleacan postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:52 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** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:52 pm

Placeholder for Anturian postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:53 pm

Tune: Destiny's Child-Survivor (2WEI Cover)

Evelina is a singer and former beauty queen who currently resides in Oreo City, while her mother is of Javanese descent, her father is of Estonian descent, she participated in this WHF after RR held a private selection, choosing Evelina alongside The Beauty Queens (Her college friends, numbering 4 people) to represent Antahbrantahstan in WHF.

OOC:
Normal text: Just Evelina
Bold text: Evelina and The Beauty Queens

We see Evelina, on stage, wearing a torn evening gown, her dress was full of cuts and dirt, and Evelina herself has a rather dirty-looking face. The lights also shined on Evelina while the LED screen remained pitch-black, Evelina did some simple hand movements while she was singing. The Beauty Queens would then appear one by one on stage.

I don't wanna cry forever, gotta be strong
I don't wanna hurt forever, let my heart heal
I don't wanna hurt everyone, admit my wrong
I don't wanna fake forever, gotta be real
I don't need your happiness, i'm strong enough
I don't need your own sadness, it's fake enough
I can prove myself i'm alive, and i'm happy
Even without you beside, i will soon be free

The lights then shone on Evelina and The Beauty Queens and the stage is now brightly-lit, however, the screen remained pitch black. The Beauty Queens, wearing sporty black tanktops and ripped jeans of different kinds, would then sing alongside Evelina. The lights would then go on and off according to the song's rhythm.

Like a thunderkiss
Electrifying
Make my whole body
Feel so pulsating

As the instrumental become epic as the music progresses,
The Beauty Queens took off Evelina's dress, revealing that she also wore a black tanktop, however she wore light brown skinny trousers, Evelina and the Beauty Queens then started to dance wildly, meanwhile, the LED screen now shows a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

They then began to sing while dancing.

Ooh..
Ooh...
Ooh...
Ooh...

They then stopped dancing and put their right arms up in the air, while pointing their index finger up.

Like a thunderkiss
Electrifying
Make my whole body
Feel so pulsating

They then started to dance again while singing, while pyrotechnics would be lit based on the song' rhythm.

Like a thunderkiss
You'll desire me
Like a switch that
You need to turn on

They stopped dancing, and let the music finish, after that, they said "Thank you, Izmedu!" and rushed backstage.

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:54 pm

Placeholder for Euskal postcard

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:58 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."

After a very exciting semi-finals process, Euskirribakondara was the only Flegavian nation able to qualify. This made Alía be even more nervous, as she'd be carrying the Flegavian flags; but it also made the whole delegation a bit more comfortable about their chances to get a good final result. 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, the crowd just cheered. Alía let out:

Géskerri Rasko Mousiki! Aupa Flegavia!!

Something happened on stage and the dancers and Alía fell contortedly. A muffled shout was heard. RTI stage crew rushed to put some clothes on Alía and bring her and two of her dancers to the first aid station backstage. Meanwhile, the stage was already dark again for the Natanyan performance. Some commentators around the multiverse were wondering what had happened.

by **Izmedu** » Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:59 pm

Placeholder for the Natanyan postcard

World Hit Festival 40 - Mousiki, Izmedu | IC Thread

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

02 Ethane: Fola Humphreys - Labelled Emotions

03 Estogium: Viv Rumie - Forgotten

04 Saintrabina: Zenobye - Schere, Stein, Papier

05 Todaskakys: Synsekai - Vyyku

06 Britonisea: Axis - Stop

07 Izmedu: Zoran Milos - Hladna pluaya

08 Kalosia: Luisa Martineti - Ja

09 Cleaca: LT - Cosneolta

10 Antahbrantahstan: Evelina Alaküla - Thunderkiss

11 Euskirribakondara: Alia Monkada - Obi

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