Le code
Alexa Serres
Based on: I Turn To You (WorldVision 74 Nekoni Special Remaster) by Melanie C
Following the mixed fortunes of the last few years, the NTR offices decided to allow an in-house private selection for their entrant this year, in which budding composers wrote potential songs for their selected talent, one Alexa Serres. Alexa, 26, a relative unknown nationally, was fairly well-recognised in the underground music scene of Nekoni's culture capital, Marina Point. Music had always been her second passion, her hobby outside of her actual profession of teaching, however, like NTR tends to do, they attended an open-mic night that she was there for, and the rest, as they say, is history. The song itself, originally named The Code, was selected by the same producers in-house, an uptempo dance number that recalled the hi-NRG disco scene of the early century, written by trance artists La Veuve Blanc.
The original version of the song was fairly heavily scrutinised by the media, claiming that the song was too 'early 2000s' to compete on the world stage. La Veuve Blanc took this, and (after passive-aggressively commenting back on their social media), sent a questionnaire through said account, entitled 'You think you can do better? Go right ahead.' The results are presented as such:
- Should the tempo be increased, decreased, or left alone?:53% INCREASED | 35% LEFT ALONE | 12% DECREASED
- Should there be a key change at the end chorus?:24% YES | 76% NO
- Should the drums/percussion be boosted?:79% YES | 21% NO
- Should there be a solo during the breakdown, and if so, what?:11% GUITAR | 20% PIANO | 20% VIOLIN | 49% NO
- Should the song be sung in English, French, or a mixture of both?:37% ENGLISH | 52% FRENCH | 11% MIX
- Should the song be a duet?:29% YES | 71% NO
Following these responses, the song was remade, with the winning vote in each category used in the remaster. Upon finishing, the media were mildly more receptive (upping a two-star rating to three, with up to one docked for pettiness). In the words of the composers, "the country has selected what it wants, so now on your own heads be it". No, I wouldn't like to go out with them to dinner either.
The song begins with the tense synths as the stage is bathed in a trio of white searchlights panning from top of the stage to the bottom. The background is an ice blue-on-dark purple wireframe background, pulsing to the beat of the synth. At the centre of the stage is a long rectangular platform in glossy black. It contains an internal raisable platform, and as the lights hit that point of the stage, in time for the drums to kick properly in, they focus on the box as the internal platform begins raising.
As Alexa appears from inside the platform, she sings the repeated "You" lines of the intro, lying prone on her back. Her outfit consists of a black jumpsuit of tight leather, with a thick gold stripe down either side, thick wraparound black goggles (in the sort of same vein as a VR set but not as deliberately bulky) and black heeled shoes. Her hair is tied in a high ponytail. As the intro reaches its ending, the plaform has fully extended, about one metre high.
As the first verse begins (0m26), she sits up and rotates towards the audience, effectively using the platform as a stool. The opening lines have the spotlights narrow, the outer ones withdrawing to leave one shining pillar of light directly on her. The wireframe loses its purple hue, becoming completely ice-blue monocrhone, and as the line reaches "when I am frozen", she raises her right hand, and with one sweep, the blue background 'shatters', revealing a deep red one in its place. As she stands on the platform at the end of the final line, the wireframe forms the silhouette of a twentysomething man's face.
Vous êtes un seul rayon d'espoir dans l'obscuritéYou're the one ray of hope in the darkness
La pilule la plus douce pour m'aider à coucherThe sweetest pill to help me sleep
Quande je suis gélé, tu fais fondre la glaceWhen I am frozen, you melt the ice
Et quand je me sens seul, oui, je vois ton faceAnd when I am alone, yes, I can see your face
The background explodes into a pattern of rapidly changing seven segment display numerical blocks of red and orange on black. Whilst singing, she makes a subdued attempt at gracefully dancing on the platform, as the camera swings from the right to the left, before coming to rest at the front. As she moves, the gloved hands of the jumpsuit begin to glow bright pink out of her palm and fingertips (like this).
Upon reaching the final line, the background changes to a plain black screen, with the command "ENTER ACCESS CODE_" appearing typed on the screen, the underscore flashing.
Je veux le codeI want the code
Aidez-moi à débloquer mon coeur froidHelp me unlock my cold heart
Donne moi le codeGive me the code
Tout ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est toiBecause all I need is you
Je ne pouvais pas m'éloignerI couldn't walk away
Juste comme tu diraisJust like you'd say
Je veux le codeI want the code
The background changes to the original wireframe, with the colour now the red of the end of the first verse. Alexa stands legs apart on the platform, and as she sings, two flourescent white poles raise from the platform at either side of her, expanding to roughly two metres high. She places her hands out, palms down, and gestures them to come up. For the viewers at home, this effect is enhanced by the poles being overlaid with graphics: two rotating circles of pink 'code' text which expand upwards, making it appear like she has coded them out of thin air.
They 'shatter' at the end of the first half of the verse, as she falls down on her knees to exascerbate the "sky falls down part", the background dimming to imitate the "sun dying". The background fades to an ice blue again for the last line, as she closes her eyes, and places her hands over her eyes, palms outstretched, LEDs changing from pink to gold.
Je n'oublierai jamais mon mal à coeurI'll never forget my hurt heart
Et je me souviendrai toujours ton sourireAnd I'll always remember your smile
Quand le ciel tombe, quand le soleil meurtWhen the sky falls down, when the sun dies
Seulement veux pouvait faire ma vision claireOnly you could make my vision clear
As the first line comes up to break into the second chorus, she jumps, thrusting her hands outwards. As she does, from each side, one dancer appears, cartwheeling from the edge, leaping and grasping the pole with their legs as they do. Both are clad in boxy, vinyl suits that almost resemble a futuristic armour, coloured gold with black detail, their faces covered by both a hood and a featureless chrome mask. They equally perform a complicated routine on the pole, swinging with their legs anchoring them.
Je veux le codeI want the code
Aidez-moi à débloquer mon coeur froidHelp me unlock my cold heart
Donne moi le codeGive me the code
Tout ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est toiBecause all I need is you
Je ne pouvais pas m'éloignerI couldn't walk away
Juste comme tu diraisJust like you'd say
Je veux le codeI want the code
The dancers slide down to the base of the pole, both facing upwards and at the far side with their backs towards Alexa. She steps down off the box to sing the bridge, as the background fades to clear white clouds. The entire bridge has the dancers completely motionless. As the bridge continues, a single spotlight follows Alexa to the front of the stage. Over the course of it, the background slowly turns a deep purple.
Changer le recordChange the record
Réécrire la livreRe-write the book
Laissez-moi être libreLet me be free
Je compte sur toiI count on you
Fixe mon coeur briséFix my broken heart
C'est mon espoirIt's my hope
Comme je chante pour toiAs I sing to you
As the instrumental goes underway, the lights on Alexa's jumpsuit turn a brighter blue. As the stage lights start flashing bright white repeatedly, the camera begins to cut rapidly between the two dancers, the crowd, a whole stage shot and Alexa. In a nod to Slovenia 2015, Alexa's dance moves become a lot more pronounced, almost jerky, as it appears that her hand pads on the jumpsuit are some kind of violin synth, theremin-esque. Your cheque is in the mail, Maraaya. The dancers do an acrobatic, flippy exercise on the floor (mercifully the suits they are wearing are a lot lighter and less restrictive than they appear), and finish out the final violin flourish with both grabbing the poles.
As the final choruses come, the poles detach from the platform (magnetically, you see) and the dancers are joined by two more, carrying light poles as well. The new characters are very much the colour swapped versions, having black suits with gold piping and their LED tubes being pink. They take their poles and continue the gymnastic performance, surrounding Alexa as she sings at front of stage, the poles almost acting like a makeshift prison moving around her body as she dances.
Je veux le codeI want the code
Aidez-moi à débloquer mon coeur froidHelp me unlock my cold heart
Donne moi le codeGive me the code
Tout ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est toiBecause all I need is you
Je ne pouvais pas m'éloignerI couldn't walk away
Juste comme tu diraisJust like you'd say
Je veux le codeI want the code
The final verse repeats, as Alexa uses her light-up palms to motion the dancers out and away. They spin out and away, turning their poles with them. She walks back up to the top of the platform, as the dancing robot-guys eventually make their way to behind the platform, all in a line, with the two original ones in the middle, the new ones on each side. Of course, they have to show off, so naturally there are flips and spins involved, all choreographed in time.
Je veux le codeI want the code
Aidez-moi à débloquer mon coeur froidHelp me unlock my cold heart
Donne moi le codeGive me the code
Tout ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est toiBecause all I need is you
Je ne pouvais pas m'éloignerI couldn't walk away
Juste comme tu diraisJust like you'd say
Je veux le codeI want the code
As the song ends, Alexa finishes stood on top of the platform, her hands criss-crossing over her, the palm lights intersecting to display a red heart. The two original dancers with the white poles stand with their poles vertical, as the two newer dancers place the pink poles into the platform, the magnets in the platform locking them in place. The background screen displays, as before, a computer screen-esque output, this time displaying "CODE VÉRIFIÉE" as the stage is bathed in white light to close out the song.
As the song ends, the crowd goes wild, naturally, and Alexa shouts "Thank you, Polkopia" and other various niceties in both French and English. Thus concludes Nekoni's first fully non-English entry into the contest. Taken hermetically, in the opinion of Alexa, La Veuve Blanc, and the NTR selection committee, it was a successful soujourn...however, will the voters agree?