SONG 23: NEKONI
I'm Alive - Alex Ford
Based on Cry by Sigma ft. Take That
After the last few contests have seen Nekoni send what one may call comedic entries, there have been talks that perhaps Nekoni had stopped taking the contest seriously, calls that had sent some local fans of WorldVision into uproar. Despite the positions of these entries not being necessarily terrible, there was a feeling from some of the more vocals of the group that the NTR selection had become arrogant, and almost complacent about selecting their entries, a complacency that was almost certainly misguided, considering how long it had been since the country even graced the Top 5. This was compounded even further when it was announced that NTR had not only bid for, but also won the right to host the 80th running of the contest. "They'll turn it into a parody contest!", shouted the voices, and despite threatening to boycott the event until there were signs of the broadcaster going back to serious entries, of course the tickets sold out in record time.
However, NTR were indeed listening to these überfans. Opting for an internal selection again, they asked the two main NTR radio stations to invite up-and-coming artists to submit their entries, with an emphasis of pushing new genres that the country had never sent before. Enter Alex Ford. A singer/songwriter from the host location of Marina Point itself, the 22 year old was a fairly unknown entity outside of the university circuit, with most of his work only available live-mixed at student bars or self-published through online music sharing sites. The genre of drum and bass has never really been explored in any depth at WorldVision, so it was easy to see why the NTR bosses figured it was a niche that needed filling. With this anthemic track, Nekoni appear to be finally taking the contest seriously again...but have they sacrificed their international support for a few hundred fanboys on social media?
The crowd have been buzzing all night, and after over 20 songs, we finally have hit the one that most of the crowd have been waiting for. The noise levels noticeably increase when the postcard appears, and again as the lights drop to indicate the start of the performance. There's a single white light illuminating him, and the background screens around him show a cloudy grey sky, and to get the atmosphere just right, the stage is swarmed with smoke as well. The back of the stage has four backing singers, two on each side, a man and a woman each, all dressed in either black shirt and slacks or a long black gown. Alex himself is wearing a black leather jacket, unzipped to reveal a white tank underneath. The leather jacket has some decoration; a thin yellow stripe horizontally around the breast area. He is also wearing darkened jeans, a little baggy, with stylish blue and white sneakers underneath.
As the song begins, the strings in the orchestra pit play, as the camera descends from high down to the stage level. He stands at the center of the stage, holding the microphone stand with one hand, and gesturing with the other. The backing singers are not visible at this point, as everything outside of the single spotlight is pitch black.
At the second part of the verse, the camera pans from the right of the stage to the left, which is the first time one can see the backing singers, their silhouettes visible amongst the cloudy background.
I hear thunder in the distance, the wind chills my soul
Clouds are heavy and it's freezing, and I'm miles from home
There's no light on the horizon, darkness takes control
But nothing's gonna stop me running, 'til I reach my goal
As the drum loop fades in, the lights slowly expand, from just being on Alex to gradually bathing the entire stage in white, so the light finally reaches the back row with the singers at the point of their entrance at the third line. The background shows a silhouette of an anime-styled Alex (basically him with slightly more erratic hair), side on, showing his face and shoulders, in front of the clouds. It is completely black and textureless, save for his eyes, which are a single white line to show they are close. The background screens slowly close in on the eyes, and just on the beat drop, they open.
When I find you again, maybe then I can lay to rest,
Maybe then I will lay to rest, but
'Til then I will not stop running
The chorus begins, as does the lightshow. The smoke has dissipated, and we can see that the stage floor is now a barren landscape, with the ground broken up. To fit the speed of the song, it is scrolling upwards at a quick rate. Alex has unhooked the microphone and is more mobile now he's not restricted to the mic stand. The wind machine (of course!) has begun its magic, and the front view is of the wind ruffling Alex's hair as the arena intermittently flashes white, as if a lightning storm is happening in the arena itself.
The background image has the animated character running, still side on, as the clouds get worse, and lightning strikes (think Run Boy Run, except zoomed in to the point where the entire screen height is the size of his body).
At the end of the chorus where they repeat the song title, the backing singers all have their arms up and outstretched.
I can't fall down tonight, though I've been running all my life,
I'll break down every border line
And through it all, I know, I won't lose my smile
Walking the line, until I end up by your side
And I can't get off of this ride
Until I know, I know, you'll hear me screaming
"I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive"
I'll run, I'll run, until you hear me
Second verse time, and the camera zooms in to Alex now, as the lights go out again around him. The floor appears to turn to ice and freeze, turning white in the process. Upon the line "I'll tear it down", he stamps his foot, shattering the ice.
The power is coursing through my veins, there's no turning back now
They can build their wall to stop me, I'll tear it down
As the build to the chorus comes, the 'ice' continues to shatter and extend out from him, and when it reaches the back of the stage floor, it extends upwards along the back LED wall. The lines caused by the shattering glow golden, as if something's about to explode through it.
When I find you again, maybe then I can lay to rest,
Maybe then I will lay to rest, but
'Til then I will not stop running
The chorus hits, and something is indeed breaking through the ice, and it appears to be lava. The stage graphics appear to show a volcano's pyroclastic flow course through the ice shards, and the shards transform into black volcanic rock. As the flow appears to drag the rocks that Alex is standing on, his movements across the stage form new ones that appear to support him from a (digitally at least) fiery grave.
Alex's movements are a bit more active, and there's almost a bit of a bounce in him when he sings the post-chorus, as he makes his way to the left side of the stage.
I can't fall down tonight, though I've been running all my life,
I'll break down every border line
And through it all, I know, I won't lose my smile
Walking the line, until I end up by your side
And I can't get off of this ride
Until I know, I know, you'll hear me screaming
"I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive"
I'll run, I'll run, until you hear me
During the bridge, Alex runs down the left catwalk of the stage, as the backing singers get louder and louder. Along the catwalk there are panes of sugar glass, that are rigged to explode just before he runs into them, as if the full force of him running breaks through them without him even flinching. The camera is positioned at the very end of the line facing forward to give the impression of him running into the screen. He manages to make it to the central podium at the front, and his momentum causes him to lean into the audience as he sings the last line leading into the final chorus.
Keep running, keep running, keep running, keep running, keep running
I won't stop running
As the chorus hits the podium he's on begins to raise to a good six or so metres off the floor, reaching the top when the drums break in. For those having a health and safety nightmare, there is additionally a support bar at the back that a stage hand dressed all in black stealthily has clipped him to by a tether to his belt.
I can't fall down tonight, though I've been running all my life,
I'll break down every border line
And through it all, I know, I won't lose my smile
Walking the line, until I end up by your side
And I can't get off of this ride
Until I know, I know, you'll hear me screaming
During the closing moments, the front podium's other use is revealed, as the twenty or so lights surrounding it all illumate at him. Additionally, there is a steady rainfall from above at that spot, and as Alex's movements get a bit more erratic (but not quite at the level of dancing), you can see the light reflecting off the rainwater bouncing off of his body. There appears to be a small plastic divider behind the podium to stop the rain interfering with the electrics of the orchestra. There has been no such restraint with the other side of the platform, so the front row of the audience has gotten a little damp off of the splashback. It was probably getting hot down there, so they're welcome.
The final note of the song has the camera dead set on Alex's face, and he's staring back at it, with a smile, unaffected by the water dripping down off his face.
"I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive"
I'll run, I'll run, until you hear me
"I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive"
I'll run, I'll run, I'll run, 'cause I'm alive
As the song ends, the audience goes wild. Alex air-fistbumps the crowd, yells "Thank you!" and we cut to the next postcard, giving enough time for the podium to reset itself and for some stagehand to remove the protective layer off the floor to stop it from being a slipping hazard. He exits to find the nearest hot towel to the pop of the crowd, and it's pretty much confirmed: Nekoni are taking the damn contest seriously again. However, will this be to the benefit or the detriment of their results?