#19 ESTOGIUM
Palladium - "SOS"
Tune : Little Mix - "DNA"
Language: English
Duration: 4:02
Members
Laila, Shessy, Bailey, Nelly
Palladium returns to the international stage to represent Estogium again, they have the honour of being the home act for the 73rd WorldVision Song Contest, hoping to score Estogium their first ever victory in 40 editions...
Estogium last participated in the 71st WorldVision Song Contest which took place in Main Nation Ministry. Ultimately, the nation finished 10th place with 61 points which was the nation's best result since their top 5 finishes of WorldVision Song Contest 61 and 62 when Estogium finished 3rd and 5th respectively. Estogium, whilst it intended to participate at the 72nd WorldVision Song Contest with Hunter Malden, crashed out of the WorldVision Song Contest with RVC stating that it was due to the funding for the WorldVision Song Contest arriving late alongside other issues with RVC (such as getting a delegation together - due to Estogium's on-and-off participation in WorldVision, there wasn't that much of delegation anymore). Since the 72nd WorldVision Song Contest money was left unspent, RVC thought that it would be a great idea to spend it on sending a bid to the contest to see where that would lead them. Estogium won the WorldVision Song Contest bidding race with a percentage of 69.2% of the vote meaning that The Estograd was a highly favourable place to go to for the 73rd WorldVision Song Contest. Many nations have been impressed by Estogium's professionalism already but that is down to receiving pointers from regional broadcasters that have already hosted the WorldVision Song Contest. Estogium didn't want to be that host that didn't participate in their own WorldVision Song Contest. Therefore, RVC managed to get a delegation together for the 73rd WorldVision Song Contest. It is unclear as to whether Estogium will be participating in the 74th WorldVision Song Contest and beyond, but the nation can surely enjoy being the centre of attention for the first time in 40 editions since their debut.
Especially since it's Estogium's 40th anniversary, RVC thought about who would be an appropriate representative for the nation at the WorldVision Song Contest. It was thought pretty early on that Estogium will be sending someone that has already been to WorldVision Song Contest or the World Hit Festival. It was decided that Palladium would be picked to represent Estogium at the WorldVision Song Contest due to them receiving the highest ever placing for Estogium at the 28th World Hit Festival in Arioslavia. The girl group was made famous for their banger, "Off My Groove" and they will be hoping that their new single, "SOS", will do just as well in the 73rd WorldVision Song Contest in The Estograd...
This will mark Estogium's 27th participation at the WorldVision Song Contest. Estogium, in the 26 editions before The Estograd has only placed in the top three on two different occasions (WV48, WV62) and would like to repeat the successes of those editions here in their home country.
As Merecendi- finished on the stage, the audience applauded very loudly knowing that the next nation to perform was Estogium. As the postcard started to play, the Estogian stage presence started to get ready for the performance from Estogium. It was to everyone's understanding that Estogium was in it to do quite well. Even before the song had been released, betting odds had Estogium in the top 10 most likely to win the WorldVision Song Contest 73. Estogium hosting the WorldVision Song Contest had no doubt increased their chances of being favoured by the betting odds. Estogians around the country has rallied around the girl group, Palladium. For the first time since the 48th WorldVision Song Contest, the viewership in Estogium is expected to exceed 50% - which is around 6 million homes watching the contest.
Wearing four outfits similar to this, the four women walked on to the stage holding the microphones in their left hand. The audience applauded over the postcard as they saw their four girls walk onto the stage. The Estogian stage crew bought this huge box which was split into four different sections. In a pyramid position, three of the boxes were on the floor while one was on a second level on top of the middle box. The four women took their position inside each of the boxes, with Bailey being in the middle box on the lower floor. She was acting as the one who was "asking for help" while the other women are telling her that they can't help her.
As the postcard finished, the audience cheered and the lights went down in the arena. The audience was ready to be amazed by what RVC had planned for their performance. As the performance started and the heart monitor went off, on the screens behind, you could see a red heart monitor. You would also notice that on each of the four women, there was a projection where their hearts would be on their body - flatlining as you could hear the flatline in the song. Bailey started singing first, singing the first two lines. The camera focused on her box only, with water droplets forming around the edge of the box...
Oh my heart skips a beat when he walks into a room
And he did have the charm to win anyone over
It's a facade, don't fall for his charm
Oh It is his way to bring you down
I know he's tempting but there's better out there
But...
Laila took over from Bailey after Bailey finished singing the first two lines. As Laila started to sing the first line, "It's a facade...", the camera moved upwards to the box on top of Bailey's where Laila stood. As the camera moved, you could see Laila looking down at Bailey in disgust before looking up to the camera by the time the camera was fully focused on her. Laila sung the rest of the verse, with smoke/fog filling her box up. White light was flashing in the box, making it very dramatic. Laila touches the glass before the camera quickly cut to the next person in a glass...
We then went back to Bailey, but this time, the camera cut to her instead of moving up and down. Bailey leant right against the glass as the camera zoomed in on her. The water droplets were much heavier around her than before. She started to bang against the glass as she sang the pre-chorus.
I think 'bout him everyday
Yes, he has got a hold on me
No, I can't help it
I can't save myself
Right at the end of the pre-chorus, as Bailey whipped her head back as she quickly belted out the word "Myself", the camera quickly zoomed out, exposing the four women in their own box on the stage. The LED behind them was static and crazy - it was almost as if the LED was coming straight at you. This was also aided by the on-screen visuals of the static coming towards you. In each of the boxes, something different was happening. As previously mentioned, Bailey had water droplets, Laila had smoke but the other two women had something else. Shessy had wind, that would increase and decrease dependent on when in the song it was. For the chorus, the wind was turned on with some oomph and so you could see her hair blowing amongst it. Finally, Nelly was in a box full of feathers that would whoosh up when the fans were turned on.
As the chorus begun, all the women sung for the chorus...
Please save me, SOS!
I concede, I confess
He has left me useless
I can't cope - I thought I was blessed
But he was just obsessed
His devil was suppressed
He drew me in until there was no way out, no!
Please help me, I protest
It's my only request
Die with no regrets
Please save me, S, S, S, S, SOS!
During the chorus, the four women were doing the same movements even though they all had different circumstances going on in their respective boxes. At the final bit of the chorus, the three women that were not on the middle lower box stopped in a tableau, looking at where Bailey was - with Bailey looking out towards the audience. Her box was lit compared to the others where you could only see their silhouettes.
As the chorus, we faded to black before we went to the box of Nelly who started to sing in to the microphone. Her box took up all of the camera shot, like with the others. She looked deep in to the camera as the feathers started to fall above her. She occasionally looked to her side where Bailey was positioned...
Should have listened to you when you saw the warnings,
But I was busy being blinded by love yeah yeah
Now, don't you dare turn your back on me
I know you can get me through this
He is so tempting, but there's better out there...
Ohhh
As soon as the lyric came "Now, don't you dare turn your back on me" it was time for Shessy to sing. Nelly continued to sing but was singing in harmony and not as loud as Shessy as she took the lead for this part of the song. The camera focused on her box as Shessy sassily swayed in her box. The wind was going crazy in her box, with her flying around the place. She smiled at the camera cheekily as she sung...
As the pre-chorus came up, the screen split up in to four different sections, with Bailey taking up a large portion of the screen. It looked as though all the women were looking at Bailey as she started to sing again. The colours in each of the boxes were distinctly different from each other...
I think 'bout him everyday
Yes, he has got a hold on me
No, I can't help it
I can't save myself
They then went through yet another chorus with the camera zooming out, acting in a similar way to how it was acting last time. The colours in each box changed every four beats. The on-screen graphics were doing their thing too.
Please save me, SOS!
I concede, I confess
He has left me useless
I can't cope - I thought I was blessed
But he was just obsessed
His devil was suppressed
He drew me in until there was no way out, no!
Please help me, I protest
It's my only request
Die with no regrets
Please save me, S, S, S, S, SOS!
At this section, Bailey dropped down to the floor as the floor underneath Laila's box opened, causing her to drop down over Bailey. The other two women, Shessy and Nelly came from their box and crowded around Bailey who was still on the floor. For this section, they all took their own bits, with Bailey starting off first, then Shessy, Nelly and finally Laila rounding out the bridge section of the song.
The way he blinks his eyes,
The way he bites his lips
The way he says your name
He's just playing a game
He makes you feel special
You're the apple of his eye?
He's got you analysed
You're now hypnotised
Make a wrong turn,
He'll catch you by the neck
He's got his eyes on you
There is nowhere to run
He is dangerous,
Yes I had told you so
You want saving? Well you better
Shout it S.O.S
As they all finished singing the bridge section, they then started singing the "opera" section. As they started, Bailey looked up towards the audience before finding her feet again and slowly standing up. The three women around Bailey all put their hands on her should before all looking towards the audience. The wind machine went off in the boxes with the feathers from the other box blowing its way around the whole thing. The camera zoomed in from afar slowly, gaining speed as it got closer right until Bailey went high on that introduction to the last chorus...
At this section, the glass to all of the boxes shattered, with the three women smiling and singing the rest of the song. Bailey sang over them... The three women then walked out of the box towards the edge of the stage. The audience all started to wave their Estogian flags as a steadicam circled around the four.
(woah-oh-oh!) Please save me, SOS!
I concede, I confess
He has left me useless
I can't cope - I thought I was blessed
But he was just obsessed
His devil was suppressed
He drew me in until there was no way out, no!
Please help me, I protest
It's my only request
Die with no regrets
Please save me, S, S, S, S, SOS!
At the end of the song, all of the girls threw their hands up in the air to the loud roar of their home audience. They all thanked the audience with their applause lasting for quite a while before we went into the next nation's postcard...