World Hit Festival 55 — Brahmokerto, Fromulya | Draft Thread

by **Fromulya** » Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:00 pm

WHF NETWORK | OOC THREAD | IC THREAD

CITY AND STAGE DETAILS

Welcome to the Draft Thread of the 55th World Hit Festival! This will be the place where nations will work and post on their entry that I (the host) will then eventually transfer to the IC thread once it opens. The final deadline for posting entries will be Sunday, November 8th, 2020 at 7:00 PM WIB/12:00 PM BST, with the Live Allocation Draw being held shortly thereafter, and the IC thread up 24 hours later. However, nations are free to make minor edits to their entries as I transfer them to the IC thread. There will be a 24-hour grace period after the entry posting deadline for nations to ask for edits as I complete the IC thread. After November 9th, 2020 and the completion of the IC thread, all entries are considered final and unchangeable.

For this thread, you can use any format that you wish when posting your entry. The only things that will change as it is transferred to the IC thread will be the header (which will act as a link to your postcard and will be located at the top of your entry) as well as the text being aligned to the center for uniformity's sake. Otherwise, the host nation will not alter the RP aspect in any major form, but minor additions are liable to be made that will only come at the very end of your entries. That said, a few requests would facilitate the transfer process:

Please leave translations at the end of your post under a single spoiler.
If you are currently working on an entry, please put Work-in-Progress or WIP on the top of the entry or on a spoiler. This makes it easier to track which countries have completed their entries based on WHF standards.

As written by Kalosia for WHF26: The host (Fromulya) reserves the right to make alterations to your RP when copying it over to the IC thread. However, these alterations will be limited to cleaning up the formatting as well as adding (not deleting) RP regarding the situation in the arena (i.e. how the audience reacted). Substantial/major alterations will not be made without written permission, and any further changes to an entry within the IC thread will only be done upon written request by the user behind it, and with host discretion.

WHF Schedule: Unless altered otherwise, please review the below schedule for the upcoming World Hit Festival below:

Draft Thread: 25th October
Sign-ups close: 7th November
Closure of Draft: 8th November
Voting Deadline: 15th November
Winner Known By: 22nd November

What is a Complete Entry?: A complete entry, by technical definition, is an entry on the draft thread with a usable tune and a complete set of lyrics (all stanzas, verses, and etc. covered). Which means, I can transfer a post with just pure lyrics onto the IC thread and mark it as a complete entry. However, I encourage all nations to put in RP to your entries. It makes the entry look far more complete than just lyrics on the page, and while it won't guarantee higher points, it will signal to the WHF community that you are putting in effort than just beyond lyrics. However, since time is often a crunch (aka me every WHF so I relate). What will not be transferred is an entry with incomplete lyrics, just a header, or one considered too low-effort or inappropriate for the standards of WHF.

Additional Information on Headers: You are encouraged to include the names of your song's IC producers and IC lyric writers. This information will go on your header. I will supply the header template used by Euskirribakondara and Normandy and Picardy (which will be replaced by a graphical header on the IC thread). I encourage you to use the below header to place on the top of your entry, as this information will be useful for IC thread preparation. Just make sure to delete any topics you don’t need.

OFFICIAL HEADER:

Code: Select all: [align=center][blocktext][box][size=250][b]XX[/b][/size] [size=200][b]NATION_NAME[/b] [b]"SONG_TITLE" - ARTIST_NAME[/b][/size][/box] [b]Language(s):[/b] LANGUAGE_HERE [b]Title Transcription:[/b] TRANSCRIPTION_HERE [b]Title Translation:[/b] TITLE_IN_ENGLISH_HERE [b]Music:[/b] MUSICIANS_HERE [b]Lyrics:[/b] LYRICISTS_HERE [b]Tune:[/b] [url=YOUTUBE_LINK]RL_TUNE — RL_ARTIST[/url] [/blocktext][/align]

As a final aside, please help yourselves to this very handy Indonesian phrasebookif you would like to incorporate greetings and courtesies in your RP. Be mindful, however, that Fromulya speaks Fromulyan Indonesian, which is modeled after the dialect of Indonesian spoken in Jakarta (whereas the phrasebook is in Standard Indonesian, which is considered more of a working/formal language in the country). Feel free to reach out to me if you would like to understand more about Standard or Fromulyan Indonesian to incorporate it into your RP, and keep in mind that there are some fellow participants who speak the language as well that you could reach out to, with their permission.

WORLD! START POSTING NOW!

by **Fromulya** » Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:05 pm

reserved space for potential opening/interval acts

by **Fromulya** » Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:07 pm

XX
Fromulya
"Berjalan Bersama" - Dian Tarakita

Language(s): Indonesian
Title Translation: Walk together
Music: Aliando Kusnoatmojo, I Putu Gde Swastika
Lyrics: Diana Tarakanita, Samuel Nainggolan
Tune: Beautiful We Are — Alffy Rev ft Hanin Dhiya

After Fromulya won the 54th World Hit Festival, what were they going to show the world next? There was already an incredible amount of pressure to put on an impressive show, but they also did not want to embarrass themselves on home turf. Considering that the vast majority of Fromulyan entries have had rather modest results, it was decided they could not do what they usually do ad had to pay special attention to ensure that the Fromulyan, host entry would not disappoint.

Teuku Imran Abdiansyah, who composed and produced the winning song, turned down the offer to write another song for the contest. Finally, it was decided that Aliando Kusno, a young Fromulyan DJ, would be in charge of producing the entry.

This was found by some to be rather controversial, because Aliando was already one of the producers in charge of the musical direction of the event, reporting directly to the show's musical director Aditya Erlanggaputra. But just like what happened Eurovision 2008 host Željko Joksimović, who wrote the host entry for Jelena Tomašević that year, Aliando was able to take on this responsibility without much repercussion. Perhaps as a result of this, some find the musical style of the Fromulyan entry somewhat similar to the opening act as well as other aspects of the show.

To sing the entry is Diana Tarakanita, who goes by the stage name Dian Tarakita. Her stage name is in fact a play on the phrase "di antara kita", which means "among us". She is also one of the co-authors of the lyrics, which talks about finding hope in face of a great challenge. The song is largely in standard Indonesian, although towards the end some phrases in Fromulyan Indonesian appear.

Fromulya was drawn to perform 3rd, after Beepee and before debuting country Joija. For the big night, Dian was wearing a white t-shirt and a batik skirt, like this. It was a pretty common casual look for members of the female Fromulyan youth, and being the young woman she was, she found this a suitable look that allowed her to fly the nation's patterns in such a prestigious international event in a way that looked appropriate for her age and reflected her personal style.

The crowd went wild when the Fromulyan postcard finished playing. As the song began, the camera showed a blur as the opening notes to the song were being played. As Dian let out a hum, the camera unblurred to reveal that it was a close up angle on her. She was on the upper platform at the back of the stage, leaning on the railing, facing the camera which was angled from the right of the stage.

Ciptaan yang berjiwa
Hati terasa hampa
Meski pikiran lantang bersuara

As the beat kicks in, Dian turned to the audience and the camera changed to an angle that came from the front, showing Dian leaning on the railing, as if standing on the balcony of a house, overlooking the passers-by on the street below her.

Dalam dunia baru
Ku merasa terharu
Mimpi alam terus berseru

There was just a spotlight on Dian, but now the stage lights kicked in, illuminating the stage in a golden tint with very slight hints of green light diffused as well. The LED lights behind her displayed a sky, with clouds moving very rapidly by as if from the POV of a person in a plane or car.

Dan kau
Yang hidup di jajaran pulau-pulau
Kita menghadapi kemarau
Jangan galau
Bahu-membahu

After she sings the first line of the next part, Dian gets up from leaning over the railing and walks over to the stairs, where she slowly makes her way down. At this point the camera is showing no less than a middle-distance camera angle, refusing to reveal to us what else is going on stage.

Mari kita berjalan bersama
Berjalan bersama
Berjalan bersama

As the song drops, the lights go wild. Dian continues to make her way down and the camera slowly moves upward, showing the Brahmanan temples being illuminated in red light.

Berjalan bersama

Now we get to see what is really going on. The camera switches to an angle that shows the whole stage, where several young men are sitting around in a circle like this. Here they are doing a kecak performance, a type of art native to countries like Fromulya and Pemecutan, which involves chanting the titular word repeatedly, traditionally done by bare-chested men wearing checkered black, white, and grey clothes draped around their waist downwards. This pattern is called Poleng, and in the culture it originates from it symbolizes a concept known as Rwa Bhineda which means "two different sides."

The audience cheers. As all this happens, Dian continues to make her way towards the centre of that circle.

Berjalan bersama
Berjalan bersama

The song calms down and the singers, previously having their arms up pointing towards the middle and waving, lower them and their bodies in a manner similar to bowing. The stage lights dim slightly but Dian is most definitely the clear main focus right now.

Lihat jauh ke hilir
Air terus mengalir
Dan ku beranjak penuh harapan

As she sings the first line of the next part, she extends her hand towards the camera (and the audience), before slowly retracting it.

Dan kau
Yang hidup di jajaran pulau-pulau
Kita menghadapi kemarau
Jangan galau
Bahu-membahu

After she sings the first line, the camera shows the background screen (the rectangular one behind the upper platform) as trees start "growing", slowly turning the screen green and into a forest setting. The backing singers take over.

Mari kita berjalan bersama
(Jangan sampé indahnya hilang)
(Ngerusakin dunia)
(Ayo kita pasti bisa)
(Bareng-bareng kita bisa)
Berjalan bersama

As the song intensifies, Dian joins in singing this bridge, which is in Fromulyan Indonesian. The camera switches to the backing singers as well as the audience momentarily as the song builds up and gets closer to the drop.

Jangan sampé indahnya hilang
Ngerusakin dunia
Ayo kita pasti bisa
Bareng-bareng kita bisa

The camera quickly switches to a close up of Dian who then sings the first line below. It turns out to be a spidercam, because right after the bass drops, the camera dramatically zooms out all the way to the back, showing that she is now alone on stage (and therefore all those dancers have departed) but also that there are so many audience members supporting the home entry. The camera quickly changes to other angles as well, all relatively wide shot and fast moving, going around the venue and showing all the different angles of the stage.

Mari kita berjalan bersama
Berjalan bersama
Berjalan bersama

The camera briefly shows the backing singers again, who are at the corner of the stage, and then back to Dian as she sings that third line below. These dynamic angles make up for the fact that she's pretty much just there on the stage, perhaps taking a few steps around but not really doing much.

(Jangan sampé indahnya hilang)
(Ngerusakin dunia)
Berjalan bersama
(Ayo kita pasti bisa)
(Bareng-bareng kita bisa)
Berjalan bersama

As she sings that last line above, the music immediately calms down, as the entry is about to come to an end. The backing singers cover her for the first line of the final bridge, but Dian takes over all on her own for the remainder of the song. The stage lights have now gone, save for a spotlight — with a golden tint — on Dian and Dian alone. The spidercam closes up on her.

(Jangan sampé indahnya hilang)
Ngerusakin dunia
Ayo kita pasti bisa
Bareng-bareng kita bisa

By now, the camera is showing a close up of her and as she delivers the final line to the song, she smiles. As the entry is over, the home audience goes wild, cheering super loudly for her. She is overwhelmed and covers her mouth with her hand. Before the tears start to flow, she takes a bow and shouts into the microphone, "TERIMA KASIH FROMULYA!!!!!"

Right as this happens, the backing singers rush to the front and all the kecak dancers from earlier return to the stage. Altogether, they all take another bow and then promptly leave the stage as the stage crew set up for the next entry — from Joija.

by **Axuva** » Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:21 pm

by **North Alezia** » Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:33 pm

XX
North Alezia
"Hilang Di Zafi" - Halimah Sa'adinova

Language(s): Indonesian
Title Transcription: -
Title Translation: Lost In Zafi
Music: Andi Robi Idris Novogrody, Izdar bin Harun
Lyrics: Halimah Sa'adinova
Tune: Lost in Tokyo — EMI MARIA

ARTIST INFORMATION

Halimah Abramova Sa'adinova is an North Alezian pediatrician and a singer. She was born in Kakavinsochi, Pyalivostok on 28th of May 1993 (age 27) to a Russian Father (Khalid Abramov) and an Indonesian (a.k.a Fromulyan) Mother (Noorhayati Sulaimani) as the only child. Halimah enjoyed her well-off childhood living in the apartments of Kakavinsochi, eventually moving into the City of Pyalivostok. Halimah grew up learning biology, often excelling in that lesson. This motivated her to be a doctor, since she has always wanted a little sister, she wants to help kids. Thus eventually becoming a pediatrician after graduating from Zafizamarrah Medical School last year. After that, She's been working for Novinovaskaya Hospital in Pyalivostok City until now. Usually, in times like this, Halimah would be working super duper hard, however, North Alezia only has three COVID-19 cases since the people there are pretty disciplined on protecting themselves against the virus. So, healthcare workers can work as usual. Making it possible for Halimah to represent the country at World Hit Festival

Other than being a doctor, Halimah has been singing a lot as a media of leisure. Her parents are also good singers. Halimah has been recording songs on her youtube channel, where she cover songs. Due to this, her voice became well known, and got a chance to go to PyalivostokVision, with her ending up second and failing to get the the ticket to Zafizamarrah. However, Alezimania Season 3 was considered as a failure, and they can't bother sending RIGA RIGS to World Hit Festival (they'll eventually return according to ABA PYA). However, since RIGA RIGS won the season, and they came from Pyalivostok, ABA instead picked the second place of the Pyalivan final, and there they meet Halimah.

SONG INFORMATION
"Hilang Di Zafi" is a song about being lost in Zafi, engulfed in skyscrapers, cars, and metro trains. The singer was lost without her companion who left her wandering around in the big city. Eventually, she decided to go through it alone and forget about her "companion", eventually being stronger than she could possibly imagine. If you look at it more thoroughly, it's about how someone would felt lost being left alone (as in breakups, being left out in a study group, being bullied with no one helping, and much more situations). So basically, the song's trying to tell you "Someone trusted you. Keep that trust and don't leave him/her if you don't have a good reason and don't leave him/her without any word" and "if someone break your trust, leave and stand on your own two feet or ask for help from people that you can entirely trust".

ROLEPLAY

(The stage was pitch black. The tune was turned on. The Main LED was not used yet. One steadicam camera walks on to the duo. Halimah and Daniel faced behind the audience. Halimah pivoted now facing the audience, When Halimah starts to sing, a single overhead light shot down pointing a little bit in front of Halimah thus making only her mouth visible Daniel spins and crouches to the right. Halimah walked forward just a bit slower than the light while the steadicam followed her walking backwards.)

Ku terbangun dari tidurku,
Melihat keluar, keluar kota
Masih hampa hatiku
Menunggu kata,
Darimu

(The view changed to the camera positioned at the middle of the outer parts of the stage, showing once again, only Halimah's mouth.)

Mobil dan kereta berbalap
Sementara aku,
Masih menatap,
Waktu berlalu….
Aku menetap, meratap
Mana kau?

(The light finally revealed Halimah's whole costume of full black long pants and black blouse. The LED was turned on to a scene of an animation of a hijabi girl facing against the audience running around the city. Halimah started moving her hands which turned on her mini flashlight. Halimah moved her hand in a circular motion, then flowing to left before moving her legs simulating wind to the right with her hand following after. The light on her hands moves as if Halimah's in an actual city with it's cars and lights. Halimah continues to do this until the next verse.)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Me-me-nunggumu)

(The animation on the LED changed to a scene where the girl walks with her face down. Halimah faced the right side of the stage, and walked on to the right side. She continued to sing while walking. While she sang, a rail camera followed her to the right side of the stage. On the last sentence (Maafkan aku-ku) of the verse, TV viewers can see a small motion effect where they can see that Halimah last moves were repeated like she's on a broken tape where actually on stage Daniel ran to Halimah to start the duo routine)

Aku mulai hilang harapan
Berkendara (kendara), jalan raya
Bangunan, Jalanan
Kontradiksi, tak percaya

Ku tak tahu mau kemana
Berjalan entah kemana
Kau bersikap semena*
(Semena-mena)
Kamu dimana, bilang “Maafkan aku-ku”
*it's actually more on "semena-mena" in actual Indonesian, but let's say it's an North Alezian addition to the dictionary

(The TV Viewers got transitioned with a white glow, and got shown a rail cam running left and right following Halimah and Daniel's dancing chemistry, where both rotates around each other, making the dance and the light movement on Halimah's hand more intense and now it feels like a meditation of some sort (symbolizing a fight between timidness and bravery) The LED's scene changed back to the first scene of the girl running.)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Me-me-nunggumu)

(The LED Screen was blank black for a while, smoke machine was turned on. A cam put on the ceilings was used to show the aerial view of the stage where Halimah lie down. Halimah put her left hand on the floor while the camera changed to a steadicam putting Daniel on the spotlight for a few seconds where Daniel stepped away from the spotlight with a very complicated salto which completed with a handstand.)

Aku lelah menunggu,
Aku tak urus tentangmu
Saat kau menangis tersedu
Aku tak mau tahu
Dan lihatlah,

(The view returned to the aerial view where Halimah raised her left hand to the sky. Seconds before the climax, The view changed to the camera on the front where Halimah stood back up. )

Ku kuat tanpamu
Meski kau tinggalkan aku dan
Meski kau jujur padaku
Ku tak mau, tak mau
Mana kau?

(Came the climax, Daniel ran back in where Halimah raised her left hand again while her head faced upwards. The LED shows glowing smooth lines connecting, making the entire map of Zafi piece by piece.)

Ahhhhhh.....

(Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu))

(The view changes to the steadicam where the camera moved to where the duo were moving. Both of Halimah and Daniel's movement matched what they've learned in practice.)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Menunggumu)

Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Mana kau?)
Hilang di Zafi
Hilang di Zafi (Me-me-nunggumu)

(The instrumental continues where Halimah spins herself like a ballerina with her left hand put forward with the lights rotating around and around which Daniel slid under Halimah until it stops and Halimah and Daniel stands at the same spot facing the opposite direction. Halimah to the front part and Daniel facing the back part. Halimah and Daniel raised their left hand. Halimah shouted "Terima Kasih, Fromulya! AKU SAYANG KALIAN!!! THANK YOU! SYUKRAN KASIIRA!!!" Daniel jumps and spins mid air facing the same way as Halimah does and waved his hands. Halimah and Daniel shared the moment with a cheek kiss. They both left the stage with joy. Roll in the next entry!)

by **Achaean Republic** » Sun Oct 25, 2020 11:25 pm

XX
Achaean Republic
"Viento" - Laura Lee

Language(s): Spanish
Title Translation: Wind
Music: Miguel Fuentes
Lyrics: Gamalier Piñero
Tune: Hot Potato - Pillow

While enjoying a warm day in sunny, breezy Brahmokerto, Achaean indie pop/rock group Laura Lee encountered the prospect of a burial in a Muslim cemetery close to the street. They were so intrigued by the intimate procedures that they begged their tour guides in mangled Bahasa and English and Spanish to stop the car he was driving so they could watch. Once the driver pumped the brakes on mid-highway and dropped them off to a side, they observed the strange rituals that would happen next.

The driver explained to them that this person was a young, studious scholar who dreamed of becoming an imam, a poet and a philosopher. He died of a heart attack at the tender age of eighteen; a voracious reader of classical Islamic jurisprudence who never let his age become an impediment to his dreams of fortuitous study. His body was already cleansed and anointed with the freshest oils, wrapped in a white kafan delicately embroidered in decadent calligraphy, with many verses of the surah crafted in the place where his heart was supposed to be carried for. The villagers were dressed in their finest attire for the funeral, carried with not a dissimilar precision as they would a wedding: the men impeccably dressed with their finest ivory dresses, some hand-crafted with colorful batik embroidery and a rounded taqiyah covering their heads; the women slowly retreating in the back, some praying and others cooking a communal meal after the ceremony, wearing dark kebayas and even some a black hijab to signal their piety while mourning. The mourning prayers were beginning, and more villagers joined in with their plates of halal food and well wishes for family.

Then the wind blew stronger over their heads, and it began to rain. The wind wiped out the flames of the nearby Hindu temple, broke a few windows in the kampung, ruined internet connections for at least fifteen minutes and waved dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide emanating from the cars to the onlookers watching the procession. The wind had a powerful pull, an intoxicating embrace, a signal that life was being taken away once again.

Such was the scene the band’s singer, Miguel Fuentes, remembered when he buried his father at the age of thirteen in a Corola cemetery. It was windy when he received the Achaean flag from weary and broken soldiers who were also his father’s subjects, disciples and confidantes, who stayed with him until the moment he lost his life fighting in Afghanistan. Miguel could never forgive himself why he chose to die halfway across the world when he could’ve at least played basketball with him one more time.

Such was the experience for the drummer, Gamalier Piñeiro, a guitarist that felt the wind chill through his spine when he remembered the death of his musical mentor, Andrés Camaro. He listened to his CD’s and watched his DVDs. He even went to a few of his concerts and even had a signed autograph from him. But the moment he learned his hero died, the world was crushed under the weight of his grief, and the wind blew stronger and touched his body.

Such were the expectations the guitarist, Josué Martínez, went through after his best friend and cousin, shot due to some drug busts gone wrong in the local caserío where he was involved in some shady deals. Basketball friends, rap buddies, school friends, confidantes and frienemies, Josúe never got over, in his heart of hearts, he never knew why he had to be there in the wrong place at the wrong time. He paid life for life, life for somebody else’s wind.

As the wind blew beside them while they witnessed the scene at the burial, they reflected on the beauty of death. Beauty? Yes. The wind blowing beneath their faces, slowly remind them that their time on Earth is painful and finite, and they needed to enjoy their time and find meaning on it. The wind would only remind them of the time they had left.

Once the Achaean postcard finished, the temple lights behind them would quickly change to red, blue and green with a faint hint of yellow, the Achaean Republic’s national colors. Then, a wide pan camera quickly showed the audience waving their flags and, as usual, the rowdy Achaean supporters that came to Fromulya with the team. Not many arrived in the country or gathered the necessary paperwork to go—barring contests like WorldVision or the World Hit Festival and the odd sporting tourney, not many Achaeans would travel halfway across the world to a mysterious land where they barely even spoke English. But the few that traveled enjoyed the gado gado and cruising through the temples that were at least a millennia older before the Spaniards arrived with their brick-and-mortar copycat template parish shire towns. For many believers, they were enthralled by the spirits living in these temples. Would they be pleased with the Achaean performance?

An eagle’s eye view of the stage showed the ring of fire turn from red-blue-green colors to a light yellow mixed with tones of ivory. From wavering and all-consuming, the stage was then ethereal. Alongside each sides of the ring were two musicians: a violinist standing with her whitewashed jeans and black T-shirt, and a guitarist strumming along with the music. In the top stage over the carved stairs, there was the drummer setting up his wares. The LED screen behind him showed scenes of people coming and going back and forth in the Corola Metro, sitting up and standing down, leaving the train and getting off the train, walking aimlessly towards their next stop. These scenes also repeated on the triangular LED screens beside the stage. A little bit of here, and a little bit of there.

In the center of the ring, there were two moving walkways running from the left to the right, and another from the right to the left. In one of them, the singer was slowly walking whilst holding himself to the clear railings. He wore a black-red checkered flannel shirt with its arms rolled back, exposing his many tattoos. He also had a black T-shirt and blue jeans with checkered black-and-white smoke monkey sneakers.

The wind blows freely, and nobody can stop it. When it takes over a place, its gusts break through the stillness of the night. Human force cannot detain it, nor the living beings subject to it. As much as the wind can be a refreshing source of energy, it is also a destructive entity, much like the ones Acheans face through hurricanes every year during their shores. But because the wind cannot be stopped, it is also unique enough to respond to the breath of life. You need the wind to be born again. You need the wind to course through your body and fill you with its power. But the wind is also the first thing we inhale and the last thing we exhale, when the last heartbeat clashes with our feeble time in this earth.

El viento sopla de donde quiera cursar su final
Escuchas su sonido; ¿cuándo acabará?
El viento va y viene, viene y descansa
Llevándose el alma de mi ser
¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!

Man is dust. Our flesh is radiant, a poetic reminder of everything that fades away. For what is life worth living if we live forever? There would be no point to living as each day would be motionless, endless, deathless. We could no longer value the small victories and large defeats. Life would drag on and on, growing older and wiser and miserable, wishing for a day that may never come. We are always borrowed to display our talents, our pleasures, and our attitudes. We long to be proven once and for all—and death is the greatest of all trials, determined by the attitude in which we face it.

As the singer refrains the chorus, a blast of wind enveloped the stage he was walking. The “ring of fire” surrounding him and the conveyor belts turned from red to a very pale blue, almost like a baby blue, to which the camera would slowly retreat at the same time. The gusts coming straight from the temples, as if the spirits themselves would breathe life and death upon the captive crowd, would float from above and cover them. The philosophical heaviness of the song contrasted with the effervescent, almost sweet lightness of the wind blowing to the people at the temple complex. Perhaps even the wind was pleased at the complexity of their sound…?

Somos del polvo, una tenue mirada
Se desvanece y todo se acaba
El espíritu sube y desciende al suelo

The Psalmist once said that the days of man are like grass, growing in the morning and withering in the afternoon, drowned out by the rain, cut off by the blade, or whisked away by the wind. The wind is itself a blade that cuts through the roots of the inflamed earth. It lifts what man has built. It breaks what cannot be broken. Nobody remembers the plants that were once uprooted by our own passion. Can life be restored from what was once broken away by the wind?

The camera focused on the violinist wearing regular street clothes, her beads of sweat dangling on the violin’s strings and subtly changing the tones and embracing the tight fimbriations of the wind into the instrument. She seems focused, dedicated trying to get the notes right while respecting the message of the song. She was no Amina, but she definitely pitched all of her musical training into her dream performance.

On the side, the performer kept singing and walking on the conveyor belt. He tried to keep his gaze on the camera, not minding that he was walking forwards, backwards, sideways without trying to trip and fall on the belt in the midst of the performance—that would be more than embarrassing! But he kept his composure and he maintained his contemplative countenance, the same he poured himself on when hearkening back to those catechism classes and all those philosophy books he forgot to throw away in college. Perhaps he needed to understand the subtle lines, the implications, the pensive, reflective nature of death.

Somos como hierba, la flor del campo que
La mañana crece y la tarde es secada
La ira nos consume cuando dolor suple
Con toda su fuerza pronta pasa y vuela

¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!

Once again, the camera refrains as another blast of wind—this time, cold, damp, somewhat frigid rain, unusual in Fromulya’s dry season—came blasting from the temples and into the stage and audience. For the Achaeans in the crowd, the few intrepid Achaeans that dared to travel to Fromulya, were singing their hearts out and even some attempted some reflection over the very introspective lyrics. It was hard not to think about the finality and fragility of life when the wind blows over you, wiping away your tears and glistening your reflections.

In the stage, however, things remained the same. The singer kept crooning over the lyrics with his eyes closed or half-open, trying to stoically portray the speaker’s misplaced confidence over his death. The guitarist kept focusing on the strings and how each chord kept tugging a small heart in his heart, each one a subtle reminder of his mortality. The guitarist, tucked into the back near the stairs, kept drumming with both rhythm and intensity. The violinist wanted to sway the emotions of the audience and Multiversal viewers at home who may struggle to understand the lyrics with the delicate harmonies of the wind.

Somos del polvo, una tenue mirada
Se desvanece y todo se acaba
El espíritu sube y desciende al suelo

Because nobody has control over the wind, nobody knows at what direction it will blow. North, south, east, or west—the wind leaves everybody powerless. What was once there no longer is. What was once in the past is no longer there; what will be in the future can cease to exist today. The Preacher once said long ago that the wind would break over the ignorance of mankind, whittling away its defenses and stabbing the roots of its growing pains. For creation grows frustrated and in secret hopes to die; but it cannot die because it serves the will of a mankind that cannot appreciate it as it deserves to be appreciated. This is why the wind exists: to keep man on its toes, to remind them of their fragile days of creation, to remind them that they were born to die.

The pace in the conveyor belt was slowly increasing, with the singer trying to keep up his balance. Then, the wide pan cameras showed how the “ring of fire” surrounding him was changing its direction to the front. Instead of sideways and the manual cameras surrounding him, he would now face the public with all its flaws—broken, dressed-down, harmless. Some of the tattoos were showing despite him covering then with sports adhesive tape. He would look to the left. He would look to the right. It was hard to show his trust, his finality, his mortality and the pain he felt as he tried to belt out his tune. The wind crept channeling his eardrums, growing stronger by the minute, almost trying to interrupt his message. But that was the reason why: the wind was aimless, painless, trying to go out of its way to do what it was supposed to do.

Tú no sabes en cuál dirección soplará
El viento en tu vientre, y así me ignorarás
Cuando el viento observa, nada se hace seimpre
Quien mira las nubes, la mies no se siega

¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!
¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!
¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!
¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!

¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay!

As the song ended, the wind—just as magic, as if nothing ever happened—died down. The Achaeans, as always, had a small ruckus on the socially distanced corner of the temple complex, waving their flags intensely and, maybe, convincing themselves of their own mortality. The cheers followed, the bows, the cries and the shouts in Spanish, English, French, Fromulyan, Indonesian (were those two languages the same?), and others. A true Babel of tongues showed up in the performance, drowned out only by the echo of the wind. Some wanted the Achaean Republic, with its growing profile in the competition after hosting last edition, to win again. Others mildly jeered at the somewhat depressing topic at hand. But the band decided to bow and show great appreciation to the crowd in their unique way. “Thank you!”, the lead singer said. “Terima kasih! ¡Gracias!”

Maybe they could do it all over again. Who knew, but only the wind?

by **Beepee** » Sun Oct 25, 2020 11:41 pm

XX
Beepee
"'til Now" - Hugo First

Language(s): English
Music: Georgia Tasda
Lyrics: Georgia Tasda
Tune: Van Jou — Edsilia Rombley

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Hugo First

29 year old Hugo First was born in Hercules on the Cootamundra Islands, Beepee and grew up into two cultures.

His mother is Beepeean. His father, a Prarian, died when he was three. With his mother distraught, Hugo's paternal grandmother took on the task of raising him.

“Memamaw always taught me the value of hard work” he says. “Its a strong work ethic that comes from struggling through the hard times.”

Hugo began his musical journey as a child, by singing in the streets to raise some money for his family, or in local community groups. “They were an excellent way to learn the fundamentals of performance and vocalising,” he recalls. He eventually decided to undertake music as a career; for his first singing contest, he performed the song “Kuingin Nasi Padang” by Sari (aka Permatasari Putri Ali Rahayumangun).

“It was at that contest when I truly felt comfortable singing on my own,” he says.

After performing in a number of local contests, Hugo was talent spotted by BONY music.   The song "'til Now" will be Hugo's first professional release.

SONGWRITER BACKGROUND

Georgia Tasda
The song is written by up and coming songwriter Georgia Tasda.

Georgia enrolled her in her first songwriting classes at age twelve. Throughout her childhood she recalls writing songs and poems: “I used to write songs and gave them to boys I liked,” she recalls. “I don't think they were very good as I never had any dates.”

At 16, she enrolled herself in a songwriting class Banksia. “I was a scared little child," she remembered, "but I enjoyed the class and found a writing circle with a number of my peers".

At the age of 18 , Georgia left to study at the Conservatorium of Music’s songwriting program. She spent four years majoring in songwriting.   Georgia threw herself into the scene of aspiring pop writers, writing every day, including weekends. “It’s important to me that I write as much as I can,” she says.

Georgia states that the inspiration for the song came from overhearing a part of a conversation on a bus. "I could only hear one side of a conversation as the woman spoke on the phone to, I assume, her partner".

The song itself speaks of a separated couple, where one of the couple realises their mistakes and faults made during the relationship.

Although written from a woman's perspective, Georgia considers the song in safe hands with Hugo First. "Hugo's tone and lyricism adds so much to the performance. I personally find the music and lyrics hauntingly sad".

AT THE BATIK MARKET

Although it was the dry season, there was still a heavy humidity on the air.

Hugo was keen to explore the sights and sounds of Brahmokerto. He determined to spend a day waking through the many shops and streets. There was a throng of people outside one market place, and Hugo watched in wonder as a man produced beautiful designs in the batik tradition.

The man took his plain fabric and began sketching in the traditional style. He drew a pattern of flowers, including kepel, sambac jasmine, and leaves of the teak tree, intertwined with lines, and circles creating an intimate and delicate pattern.

To his side, the artist, has a large bowl with melted wax. He picked up a copper canting and in one swift move he dipped the canting into the wax and began to apply the wax, following the pattern. His nimble fingers twisted the fabric and the canting to follow the lines perfectly.

Hugo watched as the swatch of fabric was covered in lines of deep dark orange wax.

The artist then handed the fabric to a colleague who placed the fabric in a pool of dark navy dye. She ran her hands over the fabric, making sure each part was submerged in the dye, before plucking it back out and hanging it on the side to dry.

The artist and his colleague continued swatch after swatch, perfectly timed and honed with years of experience.

Hugo noticed occasionally, another lady would collect the dried dyed fabrics. She would throw them into a pot of hot water to melt off the wax, scooping the floating wax into a pan.

The designs in navy and white were beautiful. He spent the an hour, watching the artist and his colleagues, mesmerised.

He noticed that when the blue and white fabric had dried, another artist pulled the fabric and also painted a further layer of wax over the fabric. This time, the dyer used a deep ochre dye, which again was hung to dry.

Once dry, the wax was removed and the navy, orange and white pattern was revealed.

It was glorious and Hugo had never seen something so beautiful. He walked around the market, looking at the stalls and wares. Designs in reds, golds and blacks. Beautiful dot work, and line work. He resolved that he would treat himself, as every good Beepeean does.

But after hours watching the artists and wandering the market, his stomach rumbled. He headed to the small local diner in the centre of the market and ordered some ayam geprek. The spicy sambal burned and tingled at the same time as the chili sauce exploded with flavour. satiated, he returned to the batik stores.

He browsed for a little while longer, before settling on a beautiful and fanciful design to take back to Beepee as a reminder of his time in this beautiful city.

WORLD HIT FESTIVAL 55

Beepeean Televisual Commentary

As is customary, bitter and pickled, Hugh Jakeman will provide biting commentary for Beepeean televisual viewers.

Well wasn't that just pure honey?

What-ho! it's our turn! We've been waiting 'til now to hear this! and 'Til Now is the name of the song which will be performed by Hugo First.

Now I've seen this in rehearsals l, and it goes on for quite a bit, so if you fancy making yourself a stiff drink.... nows the time to do it.

If you do decide to stick around for this try not to focus too much on the song rather his biceps, which are on full show tonight.

PERFORMANCE

As the postcard video ends and the stage lights are dimmed; Hugo and his team rush onto the stage to set up.

Hugo is wearing a delightful aqua shirt and white cotton slacks. He is joined on stage by pianist Dee Ivories who will provide accompaniment. Dee is dressed all in black to ensure the focus is not taken from Hugo.

Hugo stands centre stage at a microphone stand. Left of centre stage is Dee, siting at a grand piano. Dotted around the stage are a number of groups of candles, some on the ground, some on candlesticks, and also on a large chandelier dangling by wires above the stage, providing both a warming glow and a fire hazard (and to tie in with the theme of this cycle's contest).

The Brahmanan temples to the rear of the stage and visible to the audience are bathed in red lights, which throughout the performance will slowly change to white.

The camera sits at a wide angle shot of the stage, taking in the audience. The gentle glow of lights rise as Dee begins to play the tune. As he begins a globe light descends from the above Dee, finishing close to him at the piano (a la Duncan Laurence), and the stage becomes aglow with light.

The camera cuts to a head and shoulder view of Hugo. Hugo takes a breath the steady his nerves and begins.

Excuse me for calling you so, so late tonight.
I didn't mean to wake you. I hope that you're alright.
Yes I know that you're happy.
Yes, I know that you've moved on.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you, and it took me so long.

During the preceding verse, the camera occasionally cuts to faces within the audience, before focusing back on Hugo. Whilst singing camera, Hugo looks directly at the camera. His face wrinkles occasionally as he feels his way through the lyrics and the tone.

I heard you've found someone. I heard you're happy now.
I hope that he tells you all things i didn't somehow.
I hope this is your new beginning.
I hope you get all you want.
I'm sorry for not saying what I should've all along.

The camera angle for the above verse starts from the floor of the stage looking through the flickering flames of a candle, showing the upper torso and head of Hugo.

The camera cuts between Hugo, and also focuses occasionally on Dee and faces within the audience.   Hugo remains at the microphone, occasionally lifting his hands to emphasise the emotion of the lyrics.

The camera focuses on Hugo's head and shoulders as the chorus begins.

You were like the sun, both bright and warm.
You were all the strength inside these arms.
I know I never told you, and I guess you never knew,
'Til now.

During the chorus, the camera angles change between front and side views of Hugo. As he sings, there's a sadness which glistens in his eyes, as he echoes the heartache of the lyrics.

As he begins the next verse, Hugo lifts his shoulders in a shrug of disbelief as he begins...

How could I be so thoughtless? How could I be so cruel?
I'm sorry that I made you feel just like a fool.
You deserve a new beginning, you deserve all that now.
I'm sorry that I waited, until now.

As he sings, "I'm sorry that I made you feel just like a fool.", Hugo reaches to the audience at home. Before relaxing as he realises the futility as he sings "I'm sorry that I waited, until now."

The camera, which has been switching slowly between various views, then again focuses on the face of Hugo, as the chorus begins...

You were like the sun, both bright and warm.
You were all the strength inside these arms.
I know I never told you, and I guess you never knew,
I love you.

The flickering candlelight provides movement which counteracts the static performance.

As Hugo sings about "the sun" his hand raises to the sky, and as he sings "inside these arms", his arms open wide and there's a wry smile as he remembers the warmth of his ex-lovers embrace. Before returning to his side..

As he sings "i love you", the camera cuts to a member of the audience, bedecked in the Beepeean flag who has tears streaming down his face, singing along with the lyrics.

The camera then cuts back Hugo for the end of the song.

I know I never told you, and I guess you never knew,
'Til now.

As he finishes singing, Hugo's head drops and he stands holding the microphone stand. Before politely saying "Terima kasih" and leaving the stage.

Beepeean Televisual Commentary

The inebriated tones of Hugh Jakeman return to the airwaves...

Well ... that was about as much fun as a root canal. I did warn you.

We haven't gone for the cheery route this year.... we'll see how that goes the international juries and televoters.

Now for something better....

by **Pemecutan** » Mon Oct 26, 2020 12:51 am

XX
PEMECUTAN
"TETAP DI HATI" - AGUS TEJA ft. TRISNA ARYA AND NURAINI FAJRIN

Language(s): Indonesian, English, Hanacaraka
Title Transcription: N/A
Title Translation: Stay in the Heart
Music: Agus Teja
Lyrics: Agus Teja
Tune: Eka Gustiwana ft. Prince Husein and Sara Fajira - Tersimpan di Hati

Previously at World Hit Festival

54th World Hit Festival is the second concecutive participation of Pemecutan in the song competition. The country was represented by Putu Sutha with his song "Sahabat Sejati". Differ from the 53rd edition, the 54th didn't have a Semi Final stage. All 18 delegations went strait to Final Stage in which Putu Sutha was drawn as the fourth performer after Beepee delegation.

His performance was quite accepted by the audience resulted in gaining only 17 points or less than half of Pemecutan delegation scored during the 53rd edition. This result placed Putu Sutha and also Pemecutan at 9th. Although having less points and lower position, but the organizer still congratulate Putu Sutha after he is comeback to the country. PRIA spoke person stated that Pemecutan still able to maintain their position at the top 10.

National Selection

Like the previous edition, Pemecutan entry will be selected by a combine committee from PRIA and UBC as the organizer of Pemecutan participation in both World Hit Festival and World Vision Song Contest. As the 55th edition will be held in Fromulya, which has a rather similar culture with Pemecutan, the committee decided to select several ethnic songs to be further selected via national televotes.

After a hard week, the committee announced 5 songs that will be entering national televotes. A distress signal is coming from Soracana Islands. The new state feels left behind as there are no artists from the state that entering the televotes process. The televotes can be delivered through PRIA and UBC official websites, Pemecutan Song Contest website and via short messages.

All the votes are compile after 2 weeks time. The result is announced 3 days after the voting was closed. A grand collaboration between Trisna Arya and Nuraini Fajrin which performing a song that is composed and written by Agus Teja won the televotes. After the announcement, there is a debate about the entry naming. Some members of the committee want to include only Trisna Arya and Nuraini Fajrin as the performer or artist in the entry ballot because only they are who sing in the song. But the majority of the committee wants to also include Agus Teja as the artist too. The song is composed and written by Agus Teja and it is also released Agus Teja's latest album while Trisna Arya and Nuraini Fajrin are just invited by Agus Teja to collaborate with him (e.g Agus Teja) in the song. And with a lot of talks, it is finally decided to enter all 3 artists name as Pemecutan entry in 55th World Hit Festival.

The Artist

Born in Pemecutan Puri around 31 years ago, Agus Teja (or Ki Agus Teja Putra) is a young Pemecutanian composer, song writer and producer which known for his ethnic touch. His works are always combining traditional and foreign touch by using Pemecutanian traditional instruments with foreign or modern instruments.

He begins his career in 2015 after he released his first composition through online media. The song went viral and many has download it. He then released his first album in mid 2016. Many music critics appreciate his efforts to give a new touch for traditional music which have been gradually neglected by the youngsters. His works are seen as the revival of Pemecutan traditional and ethnic music. He ended his first album cycle with a national concert which always sold out.

His second album, Alam Pun Berdendang, was released in late 2019. This album see Agus experiencing recycled instruments and the inclusion of techno music into his works. The album meet with great review which also increase the album sales. The song, Tetap di Hati, is the second single from the album which was released in July 2020.

Personally, Agus Teja is come from a noble family (it can be seen from his full name, Ki Agus Teja Putra, in which the title 'Ki' is only use by nobility). He is family member of House of Blangsinga, a cadet branch of House of Pemedilan (Count of Pemedilan). In 2014, he is married to Luh Ayu Dewi Purnami, a violinist. They already have one son who was born in early 2016.

Born in small town of Lumintang, the 22-year old singer songwriter, Trisna Arya begin his professional career in 2018 after releasing his self title album under Mandala Records. The album gain mild success and made Trisna Arya dubbed as the promising newcomer. During the 2019 Chakra Music Awards, Trisna Arya got nominated in 2 categories, Best New Artist and Best Pop Male Singer although he didn't win any. Throughout the 2019, he took national tour to further promote his album. He was also team up with several songwriters to write theme songs for a musical television series, The Chorus which begin airing in September 2019.

His song was selected as Pemecutanian entry for 53rd World Hit Festival which was held in Bovingdon, Britonisea. He felt honor for the selection after the song won the national televotes. The participation marked the beginning of Pemecutan's participation in the competition. And by finished 6th, he currently become the most successful Pemecutanian entry in international song competition.

Nuraini Fajrin, born in Ubung, 27 May 1996, begin her singing career from a young age. She entered Idola Cilik Pemecutan, a junior Idol-like singing competition in Pemecutan, when she was only 9 years old. Although she was only able to reached top 6 but her performance during the show has been captured the attention. She went back to school after the competition while taking off stage performances.

She pursue her professional career after she was graduated from high school. She begin to collaborated with several singers to release a single. In 2018, she released her first single which was a collaboration with indie band. Throughout 2018 until today, she has released 7 singles, 6 of them are a collaboration with another artist. Her only solo single is Merindumu, which will be release in late November. Currently, she is also preparing her first album. The album is schedule to be release in mid or late 2021.

The Song

Tetap di Hati (Stay in the Heart), is the second single that was release by Agus Teja from his latest album, Alam Pun Bersenandung. Release in mid July 2020, the song is easily capture the attention of the music community. Critics praise the music as a grand collaboration of traditional and modern music. Agus Teja works for both of its lyrics and composition. He has to search for several ethnic and traditional music instruments to accompany foreign instruments and contemporary music. He discovered and reintroduced some instruments such as Gamelan (Pemecutan traditional orchestra instrument), Suling (traditional flute), Rindik (Pemecutan bamboo instrument) and Drumblek (a contemporary instruments made of plastic drum, used tin can, bamboo and others). These instruments composition make the song so rich.

The song itself tells the story of loss and holding up for the past memory of the loved one while keep on living their life ahead. Besides rich for the instruments, the song also rich for the type of music that its carry. Aside for pop which taking the majority of the song, Agus Teja also added some rap and karawitan (a type of Pemecutan traditional music) into the song. These addition makes the song quite easy listening for the listener even though it has a variety of instruments and music types in it.rich variety of music and composition.

Journey to Brahmokerto

Kadek Githa Anjani, as the head delegation for this edition prepare the travel for the crew more than 5 days before their flight date. These preparations are made because of the number of the crew. By far this edition is consider as the largest crew that will be performed in World Hit Festival by Pemecutan entry. As Agus Teja wants to recreate the euphoria and togetherness from the making of the song into the live performance, he has to travelled all the crew that was participated in the song. The crew includes member of Sekaa Gong Banjar Campuhan Kaja Pemecutan Puri, Sanggar Tari Parama Santhi Pemedilan, Sekaa Angklung Rindik Kerta Petasikan Petilan and Paguyuban Drumblek Taman Sari Mengwitani. The crew number exceed 50 peoples. Tridatu Airways, as one of the sponsor is ready to prepare a charter plane to accommodate the delegations for their flight to Fromulya. For the costume, Agung&Arya Fashion is given the privilege after their great costume in the last World Vision Song Contest. They have to prepare the costume not just for the 3 artists but also for all the performers.

Aside from the crew, they also have to think about the property and instruments. These includes Pemecutan Gamelan, Angklung Rindik and Drumblek. These heavy instruments are being packed in a wooden casket before being boarded into the charter plane provided by Tridatu Airways as the sponsor. After all the preparations are complete, they are flying to Fromulyan capital, Paris Baru on their journey to Brahmokerto, the host city.

Arriving at Paris Baru, the delegation are boarded in a private transportation provided by the organizer to reach their destination in Brahmokerto. While all the properties are delivered separately. Pemecutan Head of Delegation even have to ask a space to stored their many properties because they are not easily to moved everywhere. The space will also become their practice location.

After 2 days of recuperating, all the crew are going to their practice space. Agus Teja have to meet the stage manager to provide more information about the stage so he can make a plan for their performance night. As there are many properties that will be use, he is also has to manage the stage area so all of the performers can be fit in it. The practice goes well for about 4 days. Agus Teja has also create their performance set which they will practice on stage in their last practice day.

During their spare time, they spend it by traveling across the town. They are amazed by the ancient temple that is used as the background of the stage. They also go sightseeing in Paris Baru. Tasting the local culinary and buy some souvenirs. Two days before the performance night, the practice for the last time on the stage. Agus Teja arranging the setting, positions, movements, lighting and else. He is being help by coordinating manager of Pemecutan delegate for the realization of his performance vision. Fortunately, the stage is large enough to accommodate all of their performers. They are very excited for the performance night after they finished their last practice.

There is a long silence after the last performance appear at the stage of Brahmokerto. The stage are still covered in blackness while the backstage crew are seen so busy to prepare the properties that will be use by Pemecutan delegation. Heavy tools are use to help fasten the properties organizing. With hasty preparation, the stage is ready. The host then being zoom by the camera when they announce the performance from Pemecutan.

Pemecutan postcard can be seen at the two side screen of the stage. A minimal lighting give a light to Agus Teja who is standing to the right side of the stage. He is wearing a black background batik blazer with white shirt and black satin pants, playing his keyboard to open the intro of the song. Another lights turn on and highlighting the background singers and Pemecutan Gamelan who is placed at one corner of the stage. The sound of Suling, Pemecutan traditional flute give a magestic atmosphere to the performance. The karawitan is being sing by the background singer which accompany by Gamelan sound. While two pair of dancers are performing Oleg Tamulilingan Dance, a Pemecutan duet dance which depicted a pair of bee who romansing at the flower fields.

A....ha.....ha....a....

(Sakadi arsa tresnane kepanggih
Sauripe masawitra ngejalanin karma ajak e dadua)

The light and the camera then focus on top of the stage where everyone can see Trisna Arya is standing there wearing a short sleeves black shirt with red batik pattern and black satin pants. He sing the first verse while descending from the top into the main stage. He walks casually in the middle of the stage where the camera always captured his every move interchangeably with the view of the many properties that shown on the stage and the beautiful sequence of the dancers who continue their dance without any interuption. While several coloring lights illuminate the temple at the background, giving an intense vibe to the performance. Red, white, black, gold and blue colors interchangeably enlighten the temple. The rich music goes simpler when he sing the first two sentences from the song's chorus. But the music become grandious again through the end of the of the chorus.

Masa yang ku jalani
Masa yang ku lalui
Jadi kenangan yang tak kan mati

Walau kau telah pergi
Walau kau tak kan kembali
Bayangmu s'lalu ada di hati

Saat kita berjalan bersama dalam suka duka
Rasa bahagia selimuti hati
Dan ku telah lewati s'gala rintangan
Tapi takdir seperti tak berpihak kepadaku

The Rindik sound is blended with the Drumblek performance and Agus's keyboard to create a vibrant music which attract everyone to move their bodies following the music. Trisna Arya is also seen to move his body following the music together with Nuraini Fajrin. A violinist step inside the stage and perform her part when Nuraini Fajrin sing the rap part. Wearing an asimetric tunic with brown batik pattern together with ankle length black skinny pants, she sing her part wholeheartedly while moving around the stage. The collaboration between Drumblek and Gamelan together with a strong violin gives a nice beat during the rap part.

It's been like years just you and me
Together we were faced this whole wide world
No matter what they say we would still always be together
Shutting up all the words, standing tall for our love till fate came and tear us both apart
Nyalanin idup sane sampun kasurat
Urip ban nyilih sing ngidang ngelidin
Karmane mejalan pabuat di jagate
Tresna kepanggih mengalahin mati

Saat kita berjalan bersama dalam suka duka
Rasa bahagia selimuti hati
Dan ku telah lewati s'gala rintangan
Tapi takdir seperti tak berpihak kepadaku...u....u...u...

A vibrant music are again makes everyone moves their body. A sync between Gamelan, Rindik, Drumblek and Agus's techno music are well blended making a serene atmosphere which seduce the audience to keep moving their bodies. While the dancers still perform their elegant moves without being interupted by the music. Nuraini Fajrin repeat again the Hanacaraka part of the rap which close the performance.

(E ae e ae
Ae ae ae a)
Hu....u....u...hu....Hu...u...u...
(A....ha.....ha....a....)
Aaaaa.....!!!!

Urip ban nyilih sing ngidang ngelidin
Karmane mejalan pabuat d jagate
Tresna kepanggih mengalahin mati

Tresna kepanggih mengalahin mati
(Ae ae ae a
Ae ae oy
Ae ae ae a
Ae ae oy)

The lights suddenly goes off after the last beat of the music. A roaring claps can be heard throughout the venue. Some of the audience even give a standing ovation. When the lights at the stage goes on again, the three artists are standing there together with all the performers. The light that illuminate the temple goes back to white coloring which gives a majestic vibe. They give a salute and namaste pose before heading off the stage.

by **South Alezia** » Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:59 am

XX
South Alezia
"Gebruik ons alstublieft!" - Trio Madame Crayons

Language(s): Dutch
Title Transcription: -
Title Translation: Use Us, Please!
Music: The Blue Crayon
Lyrics: The Yellow Crayon, The Red Crayon
Tune: Eres Un Enfermo — Las Supremas de Mostoles

Heyyo, Blauw, rood, groen, geel, roze of misschien paars
Acht of zestien of misschien heb je maar drie stukken
kleine kinderen zouden ons elke dag gebruiken
en zet ons elke dag op willekeurige plaatsen

waar ben je in godsnaam, mis je ons helemaal niet?
well, duh, heb je ons net in je la gelaten?
planning en fabricage, klinkt nogal nutteloos, toch?
we zijn stomverbaasd, we voelen ons gegooid

we willen echt aanklagen, maar we kunnen het niet
wij geven de wet de schuld

Gebruik ons alstublieft!,Gebruik ons alstublieft!
Gebruik ons alstublieft! oh alsjeblieft in godsnaam

kan je niet luisteren , kan je niet luisteren
we zouden je aanklagen, maar we zijn berooid

verlaat ons niet, verlaat ons niet
verspilling van geld
verlaat ons niet,verlaat ons niet
verspilling van ruimte

(INSTRUMENTAL)

Heyyo, Blauw, rood, groen, geel, roze of misschien paars
Acht of zestien of misschien heb je maar drie stukken
kleine kinderen zouden ons elke dag gebruiken
en zet ons elke dag op willekeurige plaatsen

waar ben je in godsnaam, mis je ons helemaal niet?
well, duh, heb je ons net in je la gelaten?
planning en fabricage, klinkt nogal nutteloos, toch?
we zijn stomverbaasd, we voelen ons gegooid

we willen echt aanklagen, maar we kunnen het niet
wij geven de wet de schuld

Gebruik ons alstublieft!,Gebruik ons alstublieft!
Gebruik ons alstublieft! oh alsjeblieft in godsnaam

kan je niet luisteren , kan je niet luisteren
we zouden je aanklagen, maar we zijn berooid

verlaat ons niet, verlaat ons niet
verspilling van geld
verlaat ons niet,verlaat ons niet
verspilling van ruimte

(BLUE CRAYON) ONE TWO THREE FOUR

Gebruik ons alstublieft!,Gebruik ons alstublieft!
Gebruik ons alstublieft! oh alsjeblieft in godsnaam

kan je niet luisteren , kan je niet luisteren
we zouden je aanklagen, maar we zijn berooid

verlaat ons niet, verlaat ons niet
verspilling van geld
verlaat ons niet,verlaat ons niet
verspilling van ruimte

(The crowd went silent, no thank yous from the crayons, they just fall roll away. Well, that's South Alezia...)

by **Britonisea** » Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:13 am

XX
BRITONISEA
"MY FINAL PROMISE." - AIDA

Language(s): English
Music: Jacques Lemans
Lyrics: Jacques Lemans, AIDA
Tune: Courage To Change - Sia

AIDA sings "MY FINAL PROMISE." Britonisea will make their 35th appearance at the World Hit Festival in Fromulya...

Britonisea participates in its 19th consecutive edition and 35th overall participation with AIDA sending the song "MY FINAL PROMISE."

Last edition, Britonisea sent Jordan Hamilton & Nicholas Leblanc singing together as a duo which marked the first time that the nation sent one act of two different people (this does disregard World Hit Festival 35 where Rigas Jengiz was featured on the track). The song that Britonisea sent to the World Hit Festival was one that Britonisea hadn't sent for quite some time, opting for a traditional male ballad which was seen as rather inoffensive by those who were judging the Britonish efforts at the World Hit Festival. While Britonisea always goes to the World Hit Festival with the intention on winning, according to BVC anyway, it seems as though the Britonish efforts have been less vigorous as they were before they hosted the 53rd World Hit Festival. In terms of results that Britonisea has received since their last win, the nation has received a 10th place and 6th place with both placements marking the first time since the 28th World Hit Festival where Britonisea has had two consecutive non-top 5 placements. With the team at BVC hoping that they could change that in time for the 55th World Hit Festival which will be held in Fromulya who won the edition before. They originally had another artist lined up for the upcoming World Hit Festival but based on the result they received and interest from other parties who wanted to go to the World Hit Festival, BVC decided to change the person who they planned on getting in contact with and instead going with AIDA.

AIDA is a 39 year old woman which makes her one of the oldest, if not the oldest person to represent Britonisea at the World Hit Festival but doesn't mean that her style isn't representative of Britonish music today. AIDA hails from the northern city of Arçonne which is a relatively quiet place that doesn't attract too much attention from the Britonish media and has gone relativelt unnoticed by internationals. Her time in Arçonne, she says, was rather boring and she felt as though the city was one of those places that she felt tied to and there wasn't much of a springboard to move from Arçonne to a different part of the country - especially as she decided not to pursue tertiary education which nowadays would otherwise be seen as a right of passage. The majority of her life was spent serving other people as a cashier, something that she never thought she would be stuck doing for such a long time.

"I just didn't know where to go, how to get out of this cycle" she told BVC News right before she left for Britonisea to go to the World Hit Festival, "I just had to keep on living because that was the only thing that I was good at. While I don't think I'm old, the market out there is so competitive, I guess I just felt out of my depth" she goes on to say. She had a close unit of friends with her that kept her company to make sure that she wasn't aging faster than her actual age and one of the hobbies that she did enjoy doing was singing with AIDA being a frequent at the local karaoke where she begun to gain a reputation for being the parlour's best singer. While she enjoyed karaoke singing, it wasn't a bit of her and she wanted to do a lot more challenging singing - something that would take her life in a completely different direction.

AIDA was offered by one of her friends to attend a singer-songwriting workshop that was being done at the Town Hall which was being run by fellow Arçonnian Jacques Lemans who wanted to work with a group of adults who were interested in singing. Nothing here seemed dodgy and seemed like something that the Town Hall would put on for people to enjoy. AIDA went during one of her days off during a cold winter day in February, where she met quite a few people who were interested in the music industry. Jacques had a few tracks that he gave to people depending on their vocal power and style with Jacques giving AIDA the track which would eventually become the song that she would send to the World Hit Festival. AIDA kept on coming back to these classes which were held rather often after work, where she was giving tips on how to write a song lyrically depending on how the song sounds. She was asked what she wanted to sing about, and after listening to the song over and over again, she decided that she wanted the lyrics to be rather dark and sinister, speaking to something or someone that has been bothering her for some time - she just doesn't know what. Eventually she started to write the lyrics to the song and she would later perform this song in front of family and friends and a charity event at the Town Hall.

Jacques, while he had heard AIDA sing the song with her own lyrics, this was the first time that he had heard AIDA sing it fully in front of an audience and the confidence that AIDA showed was on the stage. It was always the intention that Jacques - a young songwriter who felt stuck in the city of Arçonne - wanted to submit this somewhere and based on how good it was when AIDA was singing it, he knew that he wanted to propose submitting this to the World Hit Festival. He knew that his song wouldn't reach the stage immediately if his song perked the interest of the BVC officials, but he felt deep down that this could be a song that he would one day she on the stage in a setting such as that of the World Hit Festival.

ORIGINAL BVC POST;

While Britonisea placed a respectable 6th place in Achaean Republic the edition before, the placement meant the first time that Britonisea failed to finish in the top five consecutively since the 28th World Hit Festival. Tom Stardust, the Head of Delegation is going a different route to see whether the nation can return back to the Top 5.

Britonisea winning every other edition was halted by Fromulya and the other four nations which placed above Britonisea at the 54th World Hit Festival. With many people placing their bets that the nation would, for the fifth time, win on an even-numbered edition, they were left a tad disappointed and out of pocket when Britonisea failed to gain any 5 points which would have helped propelled the nation up the scoreboard. Though, all was not lost as Britonisea managed to get itself back onto the left handside of the scoreboard with the right starting to become particularly familiar to the team at BVC. Tom stated in today's entry reveal press conference that "as can seen in the WorldVision Song Contest, pardon my French, there seems to be some sort of shift going on here at the World Hit Festival. We have had two new winners, which is always a good thing but it means we must try harder to get ourselves back on track and back to the top. It wasn't ages ago "Tongue-Tied" won the World Hit Festival...even if it feels like it!"

AIDA performed her song live at the Press Conference much to the delight of those in the audience, who applauded her weird and whacky stage persona, with them commenting on how the song does sound Britonish with added madness to it. The team at BVC are excited to head to Fromulya's outdoor space to see how they could stage this entry on a not-so conventional-looking stage. The song has been released internationally but we have to wait a week or so to see how well "MY FINAL PROMISE." does in the charts. The World Hit Festival is set to happen on the 21st November this edition, a shorter wait than last time.

Will AIDA do her country proud and take the nation to the greatest of heights? Britonisea only needs one more win before it draws with Izmedu on becoming the most successful World Hit Festival nation, a title that BVC has been chasing down for a very long time. Many people will be watching the upcoming Festival, hoping to see AIDA clench the title in time to host the orchestral edition.

It was now time for the performance of Britonisea. The current overseeing nation always has a lot of hype and pressure for it and sometimes, very recently, it seems very hard to live up to the expectations that the fans have for Britonisea. The Britonish fans are most probably the harshest, they're their own critics but this song, they thought was marginally better than the past two submissions by Britonisea and they had faith that the country would smash back into the top five once again. Though, nothing was set in stone and due to the nature of the sometimes unpredictable World Hit Festival, Britonisea was neither guaranteed nor entitled to a good placement this time around. The team at BVC came to Fromulya with the cards close to their chest and without the complacent attitude that they might have had nearer the end of the World Hit Festival 40s decade. They were on track for a good result, they thought, this time around. People liked the entry and people most certainly liked a bit of AIDA. Many millions sat around their televisions, mobile devices and laptops to watch the Britonish efforts.

It was finally time for Britonisea to perform at the World Hit Festival. There wasn't much on the stage for the Britonish performance except for a large grand piano which took its place on the lower half of the ring of fire. AIDA was positioned Infront of said grand piano wearing nothing but black which contrasted with her rather light skin tone and her hair which was brown but had many streaks of silver running down in - only enhanced for the 55th World Hit Festival. Britonisea thought that since it was the orchestral edition coming up, the choice of song for the 55th World Hit Festival would be essential. They thought that if Britonisea were to do well at the 55th Festival, it would make sense that if the nation were in a position to host again, they would have a song that would've been worthy to be the reason they hosted the orchestral edition. But while BVC were hoping of nothing less than a win, of course, there was much stiff competition from many of the nation's that were participating tonight.

After the postcard played, there was time to allow the audience to die down before there was nothing but silence. There was a shot of a dark stage with a single spotlight with AIDA standing there. You couldn't see her face - her face was not to be seen. Along with the magnificent views of Brahmanan temples behind which were lit in a basic white light. Eventually the music started with a deep strings instrument, perhaps a violin, started playing. As the instrument started playing, the camera very slowly edged closer towards AIDA over the audience who were watching the performance, eager to find out what was going to happen over the next five minutes.

As I stare at my reflection,
My face - blue, beaten, battered,
I can see nothing but imperfections.
Why did you do this to me?
Did you no longer need me?
Since you had used me,
Was I now too dirty?

In and out, in and out, your anger in me.
Truth and lies, truth and lies, what is your story?
Left and right, left and right,
You left me right here, left me for dead

As she began to sing, she slowly raised her head so that you could see her face but there was a projection on her face so that you couldn't see it too clearly. Along with the lyrics that she was singing, the audience would be able to see AIDA's face projected on with her face appearing to have red bruises all over it. She looked deep into the camera lens, expressionless, as she sang her way through the first verse. As she started to ask the questions at the end of the verse, she raised her eyebrows ever so slightly as though she was trying to understand why she had to ask the questions - she seemed visibly confused. As she moved onto the pre-chorus, she started to do a series of movements based on what she was singing. Firstly, as she sang "in and out", she slightly swayed backwards and forwards whenever she sang the words. Her eyes slightly rolled back and as did her neck as she swayed, still singing into the microphone. The light that was focused on her was left unchanged - it was meant to be a tense and serious performance. As she continued on to sing "truth and lies" she moved her head, only, from left to right, returning to the centre as she finished singing that line. The final line she sang, "left and right", she swayed in similar fashion to how she swayed earlier but this time, she swayed left and right.

AIDA took a step forward as she sang the lyric, "you left me right here", with another camera shot, this time a close up of her face, as she stared coldly into the camera. You could see fog appearing from below her, slowly billowing, adding to this tense atmosphere. The main shades that one could see on the stage is only black and white - all of the colour was gone, but it helped enhance the shadows around the stage. Though this was about to change as we move into the chorus of the song. There was another shot, slightly further away now as she took a deep breath in order to belt the first few words of the upcoming chorus. As she sang those words, she raised her hand in the air before putting her hand into a fist, bringing it in towards her stomach before she bent her knees and, still whilst singing, lowered her head. The lights reacted to the sudden change in dynamics of the performance, with the stage being lit in white flood lights, exposing the piano in the back which had someone sitting on there, pretending to play the instrument as AIDA continued to sing.

You will hide the truth with all your lies,
People beguiled by your smile -
So no one would believe me.
I’ll fight - ‘till the very end, I’ll die
Knowing deep down that I tried,
To end the darkness with light.

I know how much you fear me,
I know your darkest secrets.
You thought you silenced me,
You’ve made me stronger.
I’ll take you down, I promise.
I’ll be relentless, ruthless.
You can’t escape your inexorable fate.

As the chorus went on, the Britonish delegation opted for a gentle breeze to add some more dynamism in the performance, with AIDA's hair slowly being blown back in the breeze. As she moved on to the second half of the chorus, she slightly changed how loud she was singing, with her now almost whispering and singing in a deeper voice. She pointed out towards the audience as she started singing "I know how much you fear me", with AIDA slightly tilting her head towards the right, obviously focusing on something or someone in her direction. She said the line, "I know your darkest secrets" by bouncing each off the fricative consonants in that line callously, almost bitterly with her facial expression now showing one of disgust. As she moved on, there was a decision to utilise the camera on a track around the stage which passed AIDA with ease, with AIDA hardly interacting with the camera that had just passed her. She finished the chorus with the lights now fading down to darker shades. More fog appeared from underneath the stage, gaining more power over AIDA is it rose up the side of her body.

There was another camera shot during the small break between the chorus and the verse where you could hear the piano being played. The camera was very jolty and out of focus. You could only see the outline of AIDA as she lifted her head up, moving her hand up her neck, catching her breath as she moved into a deeper sounding second verse. As she began to sing "You broke me down to nothing", she started to walk towards the piano which was behind her with a Steadicam joining her on stage, watching her walk towards the man who was sitting by the keys of the piano. It looked as though AIDA was singing to this man in particular as she started to point at him and her general gaze was in his direction. The piano player didn't notice, but instead continued to play the notes of the second verse. AIDA's expressions as she sang was what you would expect of a performance; she wanted to make what she was saying seem more interesting than it was, so she decided to do little hand gestures - not too over the top - but right for the mood of the song.

You broke me down into nothing,
Nothing but dust blowing in the wind.
Thought you were victorious yet I’m still here.
You saw tears fall down my cheek,
Mistook it for weakness.
What goes around comes around,
It’s now your round.

In and out, in and out, your anger in me.
Truth and lies, truth and lies, what is your story?
Left and right, left and right,
You left me right here, left me for dead

As she repeated the pre-chorus once again, she now went right behind the man playing the piano, trailing her finger down the man's back. There was a close up of her finger nails, ruby red, going down the man's maroon shirt that he was wearing. She seemed, this time, as though she was singing with a lot more emotion that the second time around, with this time seeming as though she was singing this directly to the person who she was being hurt by. The lights followed AIDA around as she walked, with a dark blue colour now being used as the main colour of the stage. After a while, the man was plunged into darkness, with it seeming as though AIDA was the only one on the stage. She turned back towards the audience to finish singing the pre-chorus. She took one deep breath before she belted out yet another fantastic and strong chorus.

As she did, the dark blue remained dark but it was more intense. It was now only her on the stage with the man seemingly disappearing as he was plunged into the darkness. You could still see the smoke which was quite high up on the stage though as we moved further into the second chorus, the smoke was slowly disappearing.

You will hide the truth with all your lies,
People beguiled by your smile -
So no one would believe me.
I’ll fight - ‘till the very end, I’ll die
Knowing deep down that I tried,
To end the darkness with light.

I know how much you fear me,
I know your darkest secrets.
You thought you’ve silenced me,
You’ve made me stronger.
I’ll take you down, I promise.
I’ll be relentless, ruthless.
You can’t escape your inexorable fate.

As she finished singing the second chorus of the song, she quickly turned around to get herself on the piano. There was a camera looking down on AIDA as she took a seat. There was then another camera which focused on her hands going crazy on the piano that was in front of her. AIDA couldn't sit down on the piano seat comfortably, changing her position every few seconds, especially as she started to play the piano with vigour. While it might have sounded off for a few seconds, it still seemed as though it fit the song somehow, and by the time she finished this bridge section, she bought it back with the piano leading into the final explosive chorus. As she was playing the piano, the lights now on the stage were flickering along with how she was playing - with the lights going crazy, creating an unstable atmosphere. The cameras were also reacting to this as well, with there being a mixture of different shots after the one showing her hands. There was a shot of the stage in front of the temples to show the chaos happening on the stage compared to the tranquility of the temples behind her.

She continued, now singing the final chorus of the song with her walking to the edge of the stage while all of the stage was white, including the LED screens behind her - all of which contrasting with her dark clothing.

You will hide the truth with all your lies,
People beguiled by your smile -
So no one would believe me.
I’ll fight - ‘till the very end, I’ll die
Knowing deep down that I tried,
To end the darkness with light.

I know how much you fear me,
I know your darkest secrets.
You thought you’ve silenced me,
You’ve made me stronger.
I’ll take you down, I promise.
I’ll be relentless, ruthless.
You can’t escape your inexorable fate.

At the end of the song, the whiteness faded away with the upper half of bodies being shown on the LEDs on the stage behind her and flanking her singing the final few words with her as though she had a chorus singing along with her. You could hear the hidden backing singers a lot more now. As she sang the final lines, she did so now returning to a single spotlight surrounded by darkness.

I know how much you fear me,
I know your darkest secrets.
You thought you’ve silenced me,
You’ve made me stronger.
I’ll take you down, I promise.
I’ll be relentless, ruthless.
You can’t escape your inexorable fate.

At the end of this section, the spotlight faded away to the sound of cheers in Fromulya. AIDA bowed before walking off the stage...

by **Llalta** » Wed Oct 28, 2020 5:52 am

XX
Llalta
"Wish" - Himiko Arden

Language(s): English
Music: Himiko Arden
Lyrics: Himiko Arden
Tune: 桜流し — 宇多田ヒカル

by **Rhim Flavezztowland** » Fri Oct 30, 2020 12:06 am

XX
Rhim Flavezztowland
"Move It" - Heart Zone

Language(s): English
Music: Rosetta Choi, Jessica Poole
Lyrics: Natsumi Takeuchi, Lyra Jackson, Bae Yoo-chun
Tune: Hip — MAMAMOO

ARTIST INFO

Having debuted in 2010 under the Flavezztowlander entertainment company Blueyoung Entertainment with the mini album Brand New Heart, Flavezztowlander girl group Heart Zone's current lineup consists of 5 members (Katrina Jones, Natsumi "Nana" Takeuchi, Lyra Jackson, Elizabeth "Lizzy" Smith, and Kimberley Shaw). The group's original 8-member lineup also included Jessica "Jess" Burnet, Marilyn Chang, and Lilith Bailey, who left Heart Zone in 2012, 2017, and 2019, respectively. Over the years, Heart Zone has released multiple famous songs such as their hugely-popular debut title track "Bubblegum", as well as their 2014 hits "Summer Body" and "Ain't It Good".

SONG INFO

"Move It" is the titular A-side from Heart Zone's latest release, the Move It single album (the group's first release as five members). In an interview on the FTV1 morning show rfDaily, member Nana stated that "Move It" is a song that "promotes change for the better" and "encourages its listeners to work hard". She also stated that she was inspired by her days as a Blueyoung Entertainment trainee, as well as her activism against segregation and discrimination within the NS Multiverse (both in private and in public), to write the song with bandmate Lyra and external songwriter Bae Yoo-chun so it could be recorded.

SONG LYRICS

[box]

[Intro: Lizzy and Lyra]
Do you wanna change the future
For the better and the brighter?
Right here, right now, it's your time to move it...
Try it like me, move it like me
Right now's the right time for change
See it, hear it, feel it, move it, hey...

[Instrumental]

[Verse 1: Katrina]
You gotta be the best in this big world
You gotta know what you want to go for
You gotta change and change
And you gotta think of what
Can happen, happen, happen

[Verse 2: Nana]
Don't you dare to even give up on what you do
Don't you dare to even do something nasty here
Ain't it even the worst to gaze around and around again
Without really trying your own best?

[Pre-Chorus: Lyra]
Try it like me, move it like me
Right now's the right time for change
Right here, right now, it's your time to move (it, it, it, it)

[Chorus: All]
Hey, hey, hey, look at our brand-new passion (yeah)
Time for you to follow me with ration (hey)
You must work hard, work hard, work hard to succeed
Time to, time to, time to move it...

[Post-Chorus: Lyra and Kimberley]
Move, move
(Move it, change it, do it, yeah)
Move, move, move, move, move, move it
Move, move
(Move it, change it, do it, yeah)
Move, move, move, move it, yeah...

[Verse 3: Lizzy]
(The world is) Nothing but a stage
(Boys and girls) Being its players
Nothing happens without condition
So you gotta behave well in this big world of ours (oh, yeah)

[Verse 4: Nana]
I'mma show you how to change things for a brighter future
Don't you even tryna cause a big blooper
There ain't no stoppin' yourself during hard times
'Cause you gotta keep up with the world's chimes

[Pre-Chorus: Lyra]
Try it like me, move it like me
Right now's the right time for change
Right here, right now, it's your time to move (it, it, it, it)

[Chorus: All]
Hey, hey, hey, look at our brand-new passion (yeah)
Time for you to follow me with ration (hey)
You must work hard, work hard, work hard to succeed
Time to, time to, time to move it...

[Post-Chorus: Lyra and Kimberley]
Move, move
(Move it, change it, do it, yeah)
Move, move, move, move, move, move it
Move, move
(Move it, change it, do it, yeah)
Move, move, move, move it, yeah...

[Bridge: Kimberley and Nana]
Everything ain't easy in this world of trials and tribulations
Who's gonna be the best of the best out of all this huge populace?
Everything ain't easy in this world of trials and tribulations
Who's gonna be the best of the best out of all this huge populace?

[Instrumental]

[Chorus: All]
Hey, hey, hey, look at our brand-new passion (yeah)
Time for you to follow me with ration (hey)
You must work hard, work hard, work hard to succeed
Time to, time to, time to move it...

[Post-Chorus: Lyra and Kimberley]
Move, move
(Move it, change it, do it, yeah)
Move, move, move, move, move, move it
Move, move
(Move it, change it, do it, yeah)
Move, move, move, move it, yeah...

by **Ertzei Kishim** » Fri Oct 30, 2020 8:47 am

XX
Ertzei Kishim
"We Invited Only Girls" - Darlington

Language(s): Arabic
Music: Aram Huban, Daniel Bestrokvsky
Lyrics: Elissa Abuelidam, Dan Shaldit, Aram Huban
Tune: Como Ay! - Antonia

Darlington finished third in Kdam-84 (or maybe 85, I'm writing it very quickly), with her sensual seductive song. From her performance, she was approached by HARESHET to perform the song at WHF, which at the time was not confirmed for the conservative Muslim country. Darlington was not put off by this, insisting her sexy performance would not be toned down for anyone.

Sadhajti insara'it bizilaam el-leyl

سذاجتي انسرقت بظلام اليل

'Azamnaa bas binaat 'ashaan asma' bas
عزمنا بس بنات عشان اسمع بس

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Leḥad ma bazough el-fajr
لحد ما بزوغ الفجر

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Reeḥat el-'ashq bil-jaw
ريحة العشق بالجو

Bashar 'ala bashar

بشر على بشر

Stasilmee lerghbaat jismaaniyeh
استسلمي لرغبات جسمانية

Ta'alee shway a'rab
تعلي شوي أقرب

W'hissee el'ḥarr beyn rijley
وحسّي الحر بين رجلي

Ghiddee 'ala shefaayfee
غضّي على شفايفي

Ou'btilmsee eedee oubtilḥash bildhaanee kil ashyaa raḥ ta'meelee
وبتلمس إيدي وبتلحش بالذاني كل أشيا رح تعمليلي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

'Alli el-ṣout ,'ala el-stereo taa'ee

علّي الصوت على الستيريرو تاعي

Baḥibbo biṣṣout 'aalee, oubaḥibb shiklik
بحبه بالصوت عالي وبحب شكلك

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Marrah Oulaa ma'a bint?
مرة اولى مع بنت؟

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Kheyr 'azamna bas binaat
خير، عزمنا بس بنات

Bashar 'ala bashar

بشر على بشر

Stasilmee lerghbaat jismaaniyeh
استسلمي لرغبات جسمانية

Ta'alee shway a'rab
تعلي شوي أقرب

W'hissee el'ḥarr beyn rijley
وحسّي الحر بين رجلي

Ghiddee 'ala shefaayfee
غضّي على شفايفي

Ou'btilmsee eedee oubtilḥash bildhaanee kil ashyaa raḥ ta'meelee
وبتلمس إيدي وبتلحش بالذاني كل أشيا رح تعمليلي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Akhad wa't taweel
أخد وقت طويل

Letit'alem eish ma biddi
لتتعلم ايش ما بدي

W'hala and 'aarfeh
وهلأ انا عارفة

Ilee biddi yaki
الي بدي ياكي

Akhad wa't taweel
أخد وقت طويل

Letit'alem eish ma biddi
لتتعلم ايش ما بدي

W'hala and 'aarfeh
وهلأ انا عارفة

Ilee biddi yaki
الي بدي ياكي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bashar 'ala bashar

بشر على بشر

Stasilmee lerghbaat jismaaniyeh
استسلمي لرغبات جسمانية

Ta'alee shway a'rab
تعلي شوي أقرب

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

Bashar 'ala bashar

بشر على بشر

Stasilmee lerghbaat jismaaniyeh
استسلمي لرغبات جسمانية

Ta'alee shway a'rab
تعلي شوي أقرب

Bidi ya-ya-ki
بدي يا-يا-كي

by **Estogium** » Sat Oct 31, 2020 7:38 am

XX
Estogium
"Feral" - Felix Thompson

Language(s): English
Music: Derek Basset, John Parkison-Grosberg
Lyrics: Felix Thompson
Tune: Santiago — KADNAY

The last World Hit Festival in Achaean Republic was a tough pill to swallow for the Estogians watching. Many Estogians weren't watching the World Hit Festival in silent protest of not qualifying the edition before when Estogium finished near bottom of the pile (not even a borderline qualifier) in the 1st Semi-Final, despite having Britonisea voting in that Semi-Final. Still in shock at this, especially after coming 2nd during the Semi-Final at the 50th World Hit Festival, RVC confirmed participation at the 54th World Hit Festival hoping that it would make amends with the Estogian public by sending what they thought would be a song that would gain a lot more points than they did at the 53rd edition. However, their fun and edgy song "Knagater Deseu" failed to win many hearts at the festival, with Estogium once again returning to the right hand side of the scoreboard, having to settle for 11th place with 15 points. While, one could argue, Estogium was heading in the correct direction, the nation has waited way too long without a World Hit Festival (and well a WorldVision) win. RVC's answer to that has come in the form of Felix Thompson who will sing the song "Feral" at the upcoming World Hit Festival....

ORIGINAL RVC POST;

During the song reveal show for Estogium at the World Hit Festival, it was announced that 29-year-old Felix Thompson from Exeter in the North of Estogium will represent the country with his song, "Feral". He said that his song is for the wild spirits out there, with a song that will get your foot tapping. He said that he wants to set the stage alight in Fromulya, with a huge stage production promised for the live performance in a couple of weeks time. He was inspired by Estogium's recent 3rd at the 52nd World Hit Festival which he thought was staged well and was a good song that RVC could be proud of. He's hoping that at the upcoming World Hit Festival, he will be able to create just as much hype - if not, even more than three editions ago.

Can he do it? I guess we will just have to find out...

It was time to see whether Estogium's record could be improved and whether the country can once again attract Estogians to be fans of the WHF again...

Felix Thompson was wearing this outfit; he was wearing a slightly oversized dark jacket with no top underneath alongside some jogging bottoms which were patterned slightly lowered so that you could see the top of his boxer shorts. It was time for Felix to perform on the stage and with the delegation wishing him well on the stage, he was ready to represent his country proudly. He was hoping that he would get a good result here in Fromulya due to the fact that Estogium had not been performing very well in the past few editions. This edition, the World Hit Festival would be held outdoors with limited LED screens. While this would ultimately limit what Felix might have prepared for the Festival, he decided to not use the LED to full effect, rather making the screens simply fit the style of the song, doing geometric shapes and whatnot and help the lights, which he would heavily rely on during the performance, be more pronounced.

As the audience cheers Estogium in, the music started quite quickly, with there being not much delay from the last people cheering and the start of when Felix's first words. The first thing that you could see when the music started was Felix facing towards the back of the stage before turning around to reveal that he was strumming a guitar. Here, his jacket was slightly opened so that you could see his chest and chiseled body. Though, I am sure you didn't notice that before you should've been focusing on his amazing guitar skills! At the sound of the weird screech right before Felix started singing, he slightly tilted his head up with there being a cutaway shot to a further position away from Felix before we return to a medium shot, showing the guitar which was around his waist area up. Felix started to sing with a slight grin on his face.

As he sang the end of the first line, he gave off a cheeky wink to the camera before continuing what he was singing. Throughout the first verse, it was mostly him singing in the camera with the camera going from side to side slightly, just to give the performance a bit of dynamism. As we moved further into the song, the camera slightly tilted upwards to make Felix seem taller and more dominant - but the change was only slight.

Stop boy, you know I’m crazy.
Living life on the edge,
I know that I ain’t got much time.
I end each night on a high.
As long as I feel good,
Don’t care if it’s wrong or right.

Listen and learn, don’t speak,
I’ll give you what you seek.
You’ll feel something unique,
You’ll scream “Oh my God!”
You’ll see my inner freak,
I will make your knees weak.
Come take a peek into the life I live!

As he sang the lyrics, "Don't care if it's wrong or its right", Felix took the guitar off of his shoulders before throwing it off camera before he started the pre-chorus which took the song into a different direction. When singing about speaking, he put a hand over his mouth but moving it to only his fingers when he sang the next lyric. The LEDs around him were white flashing slightly on and off along with the beat of the song. As he screamed "Oh my God!" There was a shot of Felix moving his head back slightly, with the field of focus behind him suddenly decreasing and with the camera slightly zooming into his face. The lights on the stage were multiple different colours of the rainbow, but he had a central white bright light on him so we could see him clearly in the camera.

Right before the chorus of the song, he walked up to the camera that was positioned towards him before, kissing the lens of the camera as he counted the chorus in. There wasn't as many cheers in the audience at that as there would've been had he performed in his home country of Estogium, but he was sure that his fans back at home were cheering him on from the comfort of their sofas.

1...2...3...3
Come, enter the world inside my mind,
Where time stalls and no one is sober.
Where we’re all high on cloud nine all the time.
A place where wine fills all the oceans,
Where we're nothing but wild, we’re feral.
This world is mine, it’s in the palm of my hands.
So, no don’t you dare get in my way.

The LED screens behind him, which were slightly above him near his head since there above a flight of stairs, you could see that it was the same colour as a dark red wine with the image looking as though it was a liquid; the wine oceans behind him. As he sang that, he took a step to the side, with another camera capturing him moving side on, with his head right to the right of frame. He was looking in his direction for a few seconds before he turned his head only to meet his eyes with the gaze of the camera as he sings the title of the song "feral" with his blue eyes enticing you to be feral along with him. With the rest of the frame (left) not being used, he raised his hand up slightly in a clasp position (say if you were holding a basketball or a large ball) as he sang the words, "This world is mine", with Felix looking at his hands as he sang this before returning his look back towards the camera facing him. With the same hand he was holding "the earth" in, he pointed towards the camera with it slightly moving outwards as he warned everyone to not get in his way if you won't join his journey. At the end of the chorus, the camera slightly went fuzzy while Felix got onto the ground, laying down dead centre in the middle of the ring of fire.

As we move onto the next verse of the song, there was an aerial shot of Felix looking up with his hand behind his head with the camera slowly getting closer and closer to him as he sang up towards the sky. There were right spotlights which went alongside the inner circumference of the ring of fire which were twirling around him as he began singing the second verse of the song.

Everything is upside down,
Because life as you know it, it doesn’t exist in my head.
The boy you knew once before,
He is reformed, he’s reborn
He’s reborn into someone new.

Listen and learn, don’t speak,
I’ll give you what you seek.
You’ll feel something unique,
You’ll scream “Oh my God!”
You’ll see my inner freak,
I will make your knees weak.
Come take a peek into the life I live!

He was laying down on the ground for the first few lines of the verse before he quickly positioned himself onto his knees, facing the audience as he was quickly joined by another camera. The spotlights which were around him slowly moved outwards as Felix continued to sing, singing "he's reborn into someone new", with his finger pointing at himself as he sang this. He took a knee before he got up into standing position as we moved into the pre-chorus of the song. Suddenly in the shot, four other men who were all topless but wearing a coat over their bodies appeared in the shot. You could tell that the men that were with Felix were from ABEN, with the Estogians ignoring advice to keep the delegations as small as they can be but they did opt for one dancer from the country - no idea how they get him involved.

The four men all walked to the edge of the stage in very masculine fashion as Felix counted the chorus in...

1...2...3...
Come, enter the world inside my mind,
Where time stalls and no one is sober.
Where we’re all high on cloud nine all the time.
A world where wine fills all the oceans,
Where we're nothing but wild, we’re feral.
The Earth is mine, it’s in the palm of my hands.
So, no don’t you dare get in my way.

We’re feral tonight,
We’re feral tonight,
We’re feral tonight,
We’re feral ah!

All four of the dancers by Felix were dancing in unison with one another, moving their bodies along with the beat of the song which included some hip action, and multiple bouts of thrusting and air grabbing which was certainly an enjoyable sight for those who liked what the Estogian team had to offer. As we moved closer and closer to the end of the chorus, a spotlight on each of the guys became more noticeable. There was a final shot of Felix looking into the camera before the camera quickly zoomed out to see the five guys all on the stage together now stuck in one pose with a black background behind them and strong spotlights on each of them with the temples behind them creating a marvellous display.

As we moved to the instrumental section of the song, the camera switches between each guy with some cool effects on camera, with the lights turning into a neon aesthetic as we moved from one person to another. The jackets that they were wearing were also reacting to the lights that they were wearing, slightly glossing up as these cool neon lights were being shone on them.

Before we went into the final chorus, there was a shot further away looking at the temples behind.

1...2...3...
Come, enter the world inside my mind,
Where we're nothing but wild, we’re feral.
The Earth is mine, it’s in the palm of my hands.
So, no don’t you dare get in my way.

Pyrotechnics going everywhere was going everywhere as the dancers got into a five point star position with Felix standing in the middle, at the front with the fire plumes appearing from every corner of the stage possible. At the end of the song, there was a small cheer. "Thank you all" Felix politely said to the camera before him and his men walked off the stage happy that the performance was done.

by **Kalosia** » Sun Nov 01, 2020 1:43 am

XX
Kalosia
"Gwarirë" - Dafne Maržanu

Language(s): Kalosian
Title Translation: Heal
Music: Dafne Maržanu
Lyrics: Dafne Maržanu
Tune: Strange — Celeste

For the first time since the 50th World Hit Festival, Radiu-Televižio Kalosia has once again held a national final to determine who will represent the country at the World Hit Festival. The entry for the 51st WHF, which eventually won the contest, was chosen internally due to logistical issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kalosia. This continued for the 52nd WHF, which was also hosted behind closed doors on Kalosian soil. The RTVK production proved that the broadcaster was capable of resuming the national final, but it appeared as though it wasn't a priority after it was announced that the Kalosian entrant in Bovingdon was selected internally. A comeback was initially promised for the 54th World Hit Festival in La Cañada, but the entry was once again chosen internally, and plans pushed back for an edition. Finally, for the 55th World Hit Festival in Brahmokerto, the 45th Festival dële Melodie Kalosiane could be held — without the pandemic, it would have been the 49th edition.

Reportedly there was a proposal to resume the Festival in an online format — that is, to have the acts record their performances and have them voted upon by Kalosians. Although this did not materialize at the time it was proposed, Kalosian society has begun to open up once again, allowing for a more proper format to take place. For the 45th Festival dële Melodie Kalosiane, the show was held behind closed doors, with the performances taking place in one studio with no audience, and the orchestra performing live in the next studio over. There was also a smaller number of entrants and overall performers.

Emerging victorious that night, and winning the right to represent Kalosia at the 55th World Hit Festival in Fromulya, was Dafne Maržanu. Dafne is a jazz singer-songwriter from Vasilu, Kalosia, a town in northern Kalosia not too far away from Kasin. She was adopted into a Kalosian family at the age of 2, and the love and support she has received from this home has allowed her to grow into the talented person she is today. Dafne isn't particularly a stranger to song festivals — she has performed at various jazz festivals throughout Rushmore and beyond, and domestically, she competed at Festival dëla Kanžu Kalosianë last year, which was won by former WHF winners Corpus Calosum. In fact, she competes in Festival dële Melodie Kalosiane as a returning entrant, as she has previously competed in the national preselection once before, a long time ago.

The song she will sing, Gwarirë, is a solemn, emotional ballad about healing after an unspecified traumatic event. She wrote it herself, and the song has been compared to the music of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Dafne has said that it is open to interpretation; it could be a loss of life, a personal struggle, some sort of disaster, or even the end of a relationship. Despite her participation in jazz festivals, she had never performed at the Brahmokerto Jazz Festival, which takes place annually in the same venue being used for the 55th World Hit Festival. When asked by the Fromulyan press, she answered that she looks forward to performing there possibly some day, if her schedule allows.

For the big night, Dafne was wearing a a classy short gold-and-black dress, not too showy but enough to make a statement. As the song began, the stage was dark, save for a spotlight (with a slight yellow tint) on Dafne. She was standing smack in the middle of the LED circle on the main stage, behind a mic stand.The camera, from a wide audience shot, gradually zoomed in on her.

Rëspiral or
Kesti momenti… oskuri e fridi
Sonu finiti
Ul pasatu

Animë tia sangwina
Lakrimë toje es un oražio
E rëgardë tia

By now the camera had zoomed in on her in a close up, and it held this position for the next part. From her facial expressions, you could tell that she really felt what she was singing.

Tiu dolor
Në mereti
Le šikatriše
Su pelë tia

Now the camera switched to one that circled the stage. It moved slowly. In the background, you could spot that the Brahmanan temples were starting to be light up in dimmed, golden lights.

Rëgardë tia
Parte una storia
E vedu ja
Un koru pežatu
Komenšamu a gwarirë

Now a steadicam was on stage closing up on Dafne. It slowly circled her as she sang this next part. As it circled, you could see that various members of the audience had taken out their phone lights and flashed them, as if Dafne was singing onto a sea of people holding candles. These lights truly enhanced the solemn atmosphere of the song.

Dopu la finë
Tu staj ki
Kamini ankorë
Vivi ankorë

As it came back to in front of her, she looked into the steadicam as she sung the next part. Despite her physically not being the only person on stage, to viewers at home it looked like she was, and her solemn, lonely voice reflected on that feel.

Oľal tuto mal kë es
Sušesu, gardal oki moji
E rëgardë tia

From this point the camera essentially alternated between close up shots and shots from around the stage or cameras that are otherwise offstage.

Tiu dolor
Në mereti
Le šikatriše
Su pelë tia

As the song was coming to an end, Dafne put in a bit more emotion into her voice. Yet, it was not intensifying or becoming more dramatic at all. This isn't what the song is about. At the same time, the same camera used for the opening shot was used once again, but this time it was zooming out slowly (i.e. the opposite of what it did at the beginning).

Rëgardë tia
Parte una storia
E vedu ja
Un koru pežatu
Komenšamu a gwarirë

As the song ended, the stage lights finally came on, illuminating the venue in golden light. This indicate that the song was over. The audience cheered, Dafne took a bow, and said to the audience "Thank you, gražia, terima kasih" before leaving the stage to make way for the act from South Alezia.

by **Skanden** » Sun Nov 01, 2020 2:22 am

XX
Skanden
"Вогонь" - HYRNIO ft Vovkiv

Language(s): Ukrainian
Title Transcription: Vohon'
Title Translation: Fire
Music: Pavlo Hyrniuk Mykhaylichenko, Vovkiv
Lyrics: Vovkiv
Tune: Quiet Storm — DJ Snake ft Zomboy

Following a somewhat humble result in La Cañada, Skanden is once again competing in the World Hit Festival. For this edition, and for the first time, the union is represented by the Ukrainian-speaking branch of Skandens Television, SKT Українська. The Slavic-speaking areas of Skanden have seldom been represented at the World Hit Festival, so with this participation Skanden is expected to bring something new and refreshing to the table.

SKT Українська earlier announced that they have internally selected HYRNIO as the Skandish entrant. He does not sing, however, so it was later announced that the group Vovkiv have been enlisted to provide the vocals to the Skandish entry.

HYRNIO (real name Pavlo Hyrniuk Mykhaylichenko) is a DJ who hails from the Ukrainian-speaking parts of Skanden. He has achieved considerable success at the young age of 25, with his music popular in nightclubs across the predominantly Slavic regions of Skanden. Outside of music, he is also a fitness celebrity and model, with his initial success coming from his bodybuilding career.

Vovkiv (Вовків) is a Ukrainian folk band. The band's name translates to "Wolves" and is a reflection of their rustic and somewhat pagan style. They are known for singing using white voice, a form of singing that is part of Skandish Slavic folk tradition. The band's members range from being 21 to 25 years old.

The Skandish entry is titled Вогонь (Vohon'), or "Fire". It is a rather innovative, experimental piece (at least by WHF standards) which consists of one phrase being repeated: "Дух ночі живий у лісі і вогонь горить", which translates to "The spirit of the night is alive in the forest and the fire is burning". It reflects upon the rather chaotic, lively and dynamic energy that the song has, which is more of a rave track than a pop song. For the live performance, the artists stated that there will be a combination of organic and manipulated vocals, that is, the members of Vovkiv will sing some parts live, which will be recorded live by Pavlo (HYRNIO) and mixed using equipment.

On the big night in Brahmokerto, time had finally come for Pavlo and the girls to perform the Skandish entry. After the postcard finished playing, the stage was dark. The song immediately began with Vovkiv's chanting, and at the same time blue lights came on from the back of the stage, making the members of Vovkiv seen as a silhouette, with nothing else being visible.

Дух ночі, дух ночі живий у лісі
Живий у лісі і вогонь горить

The four girls were seen in a circle, but suddenly they started to move, despite their legs not making any movement.

Дух ночі, дух ночі живий у лісі
Живий у лісі і вогонь горить

The lights began to shine, and Vovkiv were seen wearing traditional folk outfits. It became apparent that they were all standing on a rotating platform that spun clockwise as they sang, looking outward.

Дух ночі, дух ночі живий у лісі
Живий у лісі і вогонь горить
Дух ночі, дух ночі живий у лісі
Живий у лісі і вогонь горить

The camera continued to alternate between different angles, many of them close ups or otherwise intimate. The girls stood perfectly frozen while they were spinning around, all of them wearing headpiece mics, It was mostly just them who were illuminated on stage, so it was hard to make out what else was happening. But for sure, the music was becoming more intense.

Дух ночі, дух ночі живий у лісі
Живий у лісі і вогонь горить
Дух ночі, дух ночі живий у лісі
Живий у лісі і вогонь горить

Now, Pavlo took over. As mentioned, he had recorded the girls singing the first few lines, and was now mixing that sound, marked in italics below. Meanwhile, the girls of Vovkiv ran, two of them to the left and two of them to the right of the stage. Right after this, the camera shows Pavlo — he is in a DJ booth on the platform in the back, right above the stairs. The background screens are off... for now, so the visuals are simply whatever the performers are doing and stage lights. As the vocals intensify and the song gets closer to the bass drop, the camera shows the girls once again, standing in a line facing the audience. The rotating platform is no longer there. The girls deliver the final line of this next part, before Pavlo shouts "Let's go!".

Дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі
Дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі
Дух, дух, дух, дух
Дух, дух, дух, дух
І вогонь горить (Let’s go!)

As the bass dropped, the stage lights turned red. The girls did some very well-rehearsed choreography, the kind you'd imagine to accompany this kind of music. The movements were short but quick, and definitely sudden. The camera alternated between showing the girls, Pavlo, and the audience, many of who were raving to the music.

Eventually after some time, Pavlo brought the girls' voices back, but the girls did not actually sing any of the below.

Дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі
Дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі
Дух, дух, дух, дух
Дух, дух, дух, дух

By now, the girls had scattered throughout the stage, performing this kind of choreography, whose style was a mix of the previous and some sort of slow, avant-garde movements, as if trying to connect with their spiritual side. The background LED screens now displayed the burning fire that the girls have been singing about, and the stage lights remain a passionate red. Again, the camera alternated between Pavlo, the girls, and the audience.

Suddenly, things calmed down, and the stage lights became blue. The girls also calmed in their movements, and they kneeled. Things suddenly became intense. As the music began to build up, they slowly rose up again. As this next part below began, they took sudden, dramatic steps towards the center of the stage, and the stage lights began to turn red and the circular LED ring on the floor of the stage turned red as well. The girls did sing the last line of the next part, after which Pavlo chimed in with another "Let's go!"

Дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі
Дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі, дух ночі
Дух, дух, дух, дух
Дух, дух, дух, дух
І вогонь горить (Let’s go!)

Now the girls did some more intense, sudden choreography like during the first bass drop. To make it not feel repetitive, the camera took the liberty of showing Pavlo do his thing, as well as members of the audience raving to the beat.

In the final 20 seconds of the song, as the beat began to calm down, the girls met in the middle in 2 rows. The two in the front kneeled so that the two in the back could be seen. All of them had their heads down, looking at the floor. The lights gradually became dimmer until only a silhouette of them could be seen.

And that was that. The song was over, the audience cheered, and the girls stood up and formed a single line and took a bow. Pavlo bowed too, but because his DJ set was in the way he couldn't join the girls. The camera made sure to acknowledge both of them as the crowd continued to cheer. Soon, they left the stage as it was set up for the next entry.

by **Normandy and Picardy** » Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:00 pm

XX
Normandy and Picardy
"À Nouveau" - Philippe Lyotard

Language(s): Normand French
Title Translation: Again
Music: Philippe Lyotard
Lyrics: Philippe Lyotard
Tune: 22 Settembre - Ultimo

Philippe Lyotard, the Normand entrant for the 55th World Hit Festival in Brahmokerto, Fromulya

2nd! Again! They simply couldn't believe it. To come second once was a nice change. To come second twice, and on a tiebreak at that, was agonising. And then, it happened all over again. At first, before the results were corrected, and it looked like N&P would come slightly lower down the board, people still celebrated, and there was certainly no shame in that result; indeed, it was clear after what had been a very long slump before Simone Derrida had become the Head of Delegation, the country was finally back in fighting form at the contest. But then came the news. Missing out by one point, once again. This, this was genuinely painful. And it was painful to no-one more than Derrida herself. How was she ever going to live up to this? She felt the pressure of an expectant nation now firmly on her shoulders as the final result was confirmed, and knew that she had a very big task on her hands. Well, she had never been aiming to do so well herself; Simone's goal had always simply been to show the best of Normand and Picard talent on a world stage, and clearly that was working very well for the country. She had never had the lofty goal of winning, and indeed the prospect was still not something she was aiming for herself. But the increasingly strong ranks of Normand WHF fans, and even the casual audience (which has grown majorly over the last few contests, surprise surprise) probably did expect it, and it seemed that the executives at SRNP were planning on the country finally winning the contest, having already made plans for hosting the event. Of course, however, nothing is ever guaranteed, and there is no reason why Normandy and Picardy should win at some point, nor why they shouldn't come bottom the next contest. Simone of course knew this, but took this in her stride; she would just have to hope that the rest of the country would be more forgiving...

Not everyone had watched the contest, naturally, and one of those people was Philippe Lyotard, a 24 year old singer from Amiens, the capital of Picardy, where his career began. He has been involved in music nearly all of his life, beginning to study the piano under the encouragement of his parents, his father a local politician and his mother an heiress and musician herself, aged seven. Despite his classical training in the piano, he preferred more contemporary music, and indeed won a competition for the record label Nouveaux Sons (New Sounds) in 2016 with a collection of hiphop songs, very far from his training indeed. The studio agreed to take him on as the prize, and he soon began producing an album, whilst continuing to study music, moving to study at the prestigious Cherbourg College of Music, having to live away from his parents. It was here that he won a series of other awards and became more well known before with the release of his first album, "Alice" (an allusion to the character from Alice in Wonderland) in 2018, two singles from which reached number one of the Normand charts, as did the album itself. Indeed, he was even named Young Artist of the Year at the Cherbourg Music Awards. In many ways, he had made it. He was a major, up-and-coming artist. Then, very unexpectedly, after finishing his degree at the College, he returned back home to Amiens and, rather than beginning work on a new album, proceeded to get a job working as a music teacher, doing small gigs on the side in the city's various bars and music lounges. It would seem, after a sudden blitz, having been thrust into the limelight, he had decided that that life was not for him, but yet his passion for music continued to run strong.

Indeed, it is not as if he had disappeared entirely, far from it. And that was, in many ways lucky, because it just so happened he was doing one his performances at a relatively upmarket bar in the city when Simone Derrida happened to be in town, and it just so happened that she went to that bar with a group of friends she was staying with on a short break from her radio show. Choosing a performer in this manner is that much the norm for Simone and the Normand delegation; indeed, she has an almost 'organic' way of choosing the entrants, using her connections across the Normand music industry which she has nurtured over the ways due to her radio role as well as being the head of SRNP cultural programming. For example, she decided on Lilou, the previous entrant, thanks to her role on the jury for the previous years' Cherbourg Music Award, or, to look back to her first run as HoD in WHF 51, she discovered Jean-Pierre Gaulfier in a small, smoky underground bar in the city of Beauvais, and later happened to arrive at the studio where he was working with well-known singer Sacha Deschamps. So, it is clear that Simone has her ways, and so it was in this case too. She managed to speak to him soon after he finished, and frankly Philippe was bemused; he had, of course, heard of the World Hit Festival, but knew next to nothing about it; he had never even watched a single contest. He had no idea what he would be getting himself into. Besides, had he not left that sort of larger stardom and celebrity behind? So, unsurprisingly, he at first had to say no, but Simone was determined that Philippe would be the Normand entrant for the next WHF, no matter what. Philippe had been gracious enough, or perhaps foolish enough depending on your perspective, to leave Simone his contact details, and soon she had sent him the last few contests as a crash course, and a formal request that he agree to be the Normand act for Brahmokerto.

The Derrida Show on SRNP Radio 3, a few months later. Philippe Lyotard had been revealed to be the next Normand entrant, as is now tradition, and his entry, "À Nouveau", had just been played, and thus it was now time for the obligatory interview. Speaking about the process by which he became the entrant, Lyotard told listeners across Normandy and Picardy (and indeed those sad enough to be listening from further afield):

Well, no offense meant, but you [i.e. Simone] can be very insistent, as I learnt. I had originally said that I wasn't interested, that this wans't the sort of thing that I was looking to do, and that I didn't even know anything about the contest. Indeed, I'm still not entirely quite what I've gotten myself self into haha. In any case, yeah, so, she sent me a cheeky email with links to the last few contests, asking me very politely to watch them and get a feel for the contest, and I couldn't well refuse, you see, and so I watched them, and well, now I'm here... No, but seriously, I'm glad she kept on pushing me. I think this is going to be a great experience, I get to do something I'm passionate about, performing. For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime, and indeed a personal, experience, as much as it is me representing the country, although trust me, the weight of the responsibility is already bearing down on me...

Later on, he was naturally asked about the song, about its message, and whether it had any relevance to his own life, and simply what sort of message he was seeking to get across, to which he responded:

Well, I can't say I had any particular message in mind, to be honest, I just went to go and right a great song, a song that I can truly feel and which I am happy to take to what is almost certainly going to be the biggest stage I will perform on in my life, no doubt... Like everything in this whole mad turn of events, it is personal to me, it is a song which speaks to me, and I can only hope it speaks to you all out there as well. Loss, loss is sadly a pretty universal thing, and is always there, so I think it is universal, there is something there for everyone too... Take from it what you will, at the end of the day. All I can do is write and perform the music

The night air hung heavy over the stage as the final preparations were made. This was the night everything had been leading up to, the whole whirlwind that had transported Philippe from the radio studio in Rouen to the stage in Brahmokerto. How had everything gone so quickly? No matter, he clearly had other concerns at this time. Even though it was nightime, Philippe was still troubled a little by the heat, but of course that was the least of his worries. And at least he was going to be surrounded by plenty of water on stage. Speaking of which, this is what the final preparations consisted of. A large 'pool' of water, large enough to fit a piano in, had been carefully brought onto the stage and positioned in the middle of the light ring on the floor, such that there was just a slight gap. It's sides were just high enough to keep the water in, but not enough to be majorly visible, but in order to help disguise this, a layer of smoke stretched across the stage, lapping up to the edges of the pool and indeed swirling above and across the water, both of them playing with the white light flickering down from the temple structure in the background. The Normand delegation had hoped to convince the Fromulyan organisers to turn off the lights in the background for the performance but sadly had had no luck, but in a way they were ultimately rather glad, as the effect of the light, the smoke and the water unsurprisingly worked with what they were going for. As mentioned, there was a piano sitting in the middle of this pool, and it had been made to look all old and beaten up, with ivy growing around its legs, and across the top, there were little pools of water, as if it had just been raining. However, Philippe himself was not sat at the piano just yet, and instead was waiting on the back platform of the stage, just at the stop of the staircase, which too had had various items and accoutrements strewn across it to add to this look, sort of like an old stately home in a state of decay, in this way deliberately playing on the temple structure in the background as symbols and relics of times gone by, reflective of the desires and beliefs of those been and gone, and which continue to haunt the buildings and echo through them to the present. Or something pretentious like that.

Deep breaths. It wasn't the audience at the venue that worried Philippe. He had, indeed, performed to much larger audiences back home. No, it was the knowledge that so many people were watching across the multiverse, so many pairs of eyes and pairs of ears, something he had not known anything about just a few months ago. And now, he had been dropped deep into it all. And now, it was his time to perform. The final cue. The end of the postcard. The song slowly faded into life. As noted, he was at the top of the staircase leading down onto the main stage, and at this point was illuminated only by the background light, mostly white, although in a sense dirtied by the natural colour of the stone, as it were. As the music faded in, so did the camera feed, to a very close shot of Philippe, pretty much showing his head and down to his shoulders. He was wearing a very dark blue ensemble, with a pair of relatively tight trousers, a shirt, and a long jacket/coat, much like here, but as stated a dark blue rather than properly black. The first shot was just of him looking up slightly towards the camera, his hand almost shaking as it held the microphone up towards his mouth, and he began to sing the first verse of the song. Throughout the verse, the focus remained on his singing and his fragility within an almost crushing ambience which revealed itself more and more as the camera slowly zoomed outwards to show more and more of him, and his position at the top of the staircase, until eventually by the end of the verse the piano, sitting within the lake amongst the wider carpet of smoke on the lower stage could be seen, the light from behind the stage complex dancing about across the stage. After this, and with the first line of this section of the verse, the camera looked up slightly to show the temple structure in more focus but more importantly the night sky, with a few stars still twinkling away, breaking through the wider set up and light pollution, and also the moon sitting in ghostly silence, casting its own light.

Quelquefois j'imagine sentir à nouveau ces nuits
Les sensations sur ma peau et entendre toutes les bruits
Des voitures au loin et ton souffle près de moi
Pendant que tu levais les yeux aux étoiles, j'ai vu seulement toi

This shot then faded to one from the bottom of the staircase (with a cameraman on stage) looking up as Philippe, at first pointing up to the sky to again point towards the 'stars' supposedly judging him as he began to walk downwards towards the main stage area, obviously continuing to sing as he went, and looking down towards the camera. The cameraman of course had to move backwards as he came further down onto the stage, and move towards the left (from the view of the audience) and around the waterpool and piano, maintaining a constant distance from Philippe as he did so. As noted before, the stairs were covered in various items and towards the bottom, rising from the smoke, the same sort of ivy that was also wrapped around the piano, as the smoke twirled around at the bottom, then being slightly distrubed as Philippe finally reached the main stage area, his feet and the bottom of his legs almost disappearing. He unsurprisingly followed the same path as the cameraman for a while, before turning and stepping into the pool, before sitting down at the piano, dusting and then lifting the cover over the keys, and preparing to begin playing as the chorus began.

J'avais pas honte tandis qu'ils illuminaient en jugement
Fragile comme mon petit cœur, si lontain et si brillant
Mais comme la lune doit décoître, ou la nuit se transforme en journée
Je me suis réveillé, je me suis rendu compte que je rêvais

And thus, as the chorus started, there was a switch to a wider shot of the stage viewed from where the audience was watching, showing the light slowly streaming down onto the stage, the water, the smoke, and Philippe playing the piano chords (his microphone attached to a stand connected to the piano), ultimately a rather ghostly image. The image zoomed in ever so slightly over the course of the chorus, to provide a bit of movement, but mostly the focus was on the eerie, haunting melancholy, and the deep wells of emotion that were being tapped into (or at leas that the Normand delegation were trying to tap into). A faint light from the far side of the stage from Philippe slowly flicked into life, adding a slightly blue tinge to the general lighting scheme, and mixing in amongst the white and the regions of shadow that moved around and above. Just as the chorus came to an end, the LED light ring surrounding Philippe, the piano and the water pool slowly flickered into light, almost as if were an old light that had not been turned on in a very long time, and was in danger of flickering back off permanently at any moment, which helped to provide an underglow through the smoke.

J'peux pas supporter te perdre à nouveau
J'veux que cette moment dure toujours
Juste comme mes memoires ou mes rêves
Mais te souviens-tu même ces jours?

Once this light had flickered into life, and the next verse began, it began to slowly fade on and off, helping again provide a sense of movement and of change, and generally helping to add to the ambience. As the verse began, however, there was a surprisingly sudden shot at Philippe's level at the far side of the piano from him. Philippe, who had essentially been looking down slightly towards the piano, not quite hanging his head in shame but sort of that idea, suddenly and dramatically looked up to the camera across the pools of water and signs of damage and distress on the piano lid, and around which the light continued to flit and flicker. Frankly, there is not much else for me to describe here; the focus was on simplicitly and on letting the song speak for itself at this point, and letting Philippe fill every word with emotion as he looked out towards millions of people watching him. All he could do was keep on singing.

J'n'était pas là-bas vraiment
Tu te sentais finalement?
Mais je tarde que je voie ton visage, il me hante encore
Comme une compagnon de voyage, il me suit en descendant la rue
Au loin de ma propre ville et au loin de ma propre vie

Then, the shot switched to one looking down on the stage from the back platform, down the stairs that Philippe had walked down, down towards the sea of smoke which looked to be growing, beginning to swirl around the bottom of the steps, and even more importantly out beyond Philippe towards the audience watching, who had been asked to use the flashlights on their phones, and some of them had even obliged, which was nice. Philippe returned to his focus on playing the piano, although he did occassionally up towards the camera. This perspective also showed the effect of the light ring, still fading on and off, even better than otherwise.

J'arpentes autour des ruines et je vois ce qu'était autrefois
Maintentant les batiments s'effondrent et la nuit se rapprochent
Les fantômes de ma vie, il me console, toutefois
Bien qu'ils disparaissent comme toi à crépuscule silencieux

After another fade out at the end of the verse, the shot changed changed for the chorus to one above the piano and Philippe, who continued to play and sing as he had been, drawing on his own inner strength and fragility that he was letting out into the world via this song. With each set of drum-beats which drove the chorus, the ring of light would give two especially large flashes, to help accentuate them as the song slowly built up; this was especially clear now given the birds eye view. It slowly moved around 360 degrees with the piano as the central axis of the shot, starting and ending directly above Philippe, his hands visibly moving over the piano keys. I would say 'as this chorus came to an end' but that would do a disservice to the structure of the song, with an intensification at the end leading to a verse with more vigour, a form of intensification that the flat distinction does not cover. But, that cavear out of the way, towards the end of this chorus, as Philippe held onto her note, the small LED screens along the sides of the upper platform/along the side which the stairs went up suddenly flashed into life too, here mostly white, as the lights on the temples in the background changed to a blue colour.

J'peux pas supporter te perdre à nouveau
J'veux que cette moment dure toujours
Juste comme mes memoires ou mes rêves
Mais te souviens-tu même ces jours?

As the song burst into life, Philippe seemed to almost spring up off of his piano stool which he pushed back, creating a series of ripples across the water and disturbing some of the smoke that had reached its way across the thin sea surrounding Philippe and the Piano and was trying to make contact with them both, and began to play the piano standing up, throwing his full force behind it. There was, unsurprisingly a change of shot here, again from the front of the stage and on stage level, relatively close to Philippe as he looked up, his body twisted slightly towards the camera.

J'espère encore que tu serais là un jour en tendant la main
Et je le saisirai et je saurai que tu serais ici demain
Et je ne lâcherai jamais juste comme je l'ai fait avant
Je tiendrai toi informé que je suis ici à chaque moment

As the verse powered on, and Philippe powered through, and the light ring now stayed permanently in colour, its fading duties having been replaced by the small roof-shaped LED panels, spreading waves of light and dark across the stage, and the smoke swirled over the edges, and Philippe's movements, increasingly agitated, disturbed the water, a series of wide, panning shots from various angles were used, again to add a bit more movement and to add to the increasing power of the song. As Philippe again held a long note as he sang "pleurer", the camera shot suddenly zoomed in towards his face, as a single tear moved down it (thanks to the wonders of using the sort of fake tear things that a movie studio might, etc.)

Mais je sais que le spectacle se termine et le rappel arrive
Et je sais que tu dois partir alors qu'il me fait du mal
Alors dis-moi que tu m'aimes et je te croirai à nouveau
Pour que tu puisse d'etre heureux et je puisse pleurer

Then, as the final chorus began, there was again a cut to a wider shot of the entire stage as all the blues and whites suddenly were washed away in a sea of gold, to usher in the final climax, the high point, the point the journey had been leading up to. A panning shot from left to right from this distance was used as Philippe continue to play with perhaps a little too much gusto; this was it, this was the moment he had to make it count, the last big push. This was truly his chance to shine. "Don't screw this up, don't screw this up" ran through his mind briefly, before he essentially lost all capacity to think and simply let himself go. More shots around the stage was the name of the game as the final chorus continued, moving again around but also downwards and inwards, albeit not in one smooth curve, even as Philippe played along with the final instrumental, before coming down just next to him. Even as the song ended, the performance continued momentarily. Philippe's hand hovered over the keys for a moment. Then, slowly, he moved to close the cover again, and sat back on the stool, even though it had moved some difference. With that, the feed faded to black.

J'peux pas supporter te perdre à nouveau
J'veux que cette moment dure toujours
Juste comme mes memoires ou mes rêves
Mais te souviens-tu même ces jours?
J'peux pas supporter te perdre à nouveau

It was finally over. He had done it, he had got through probably the biggest performance of his life. A sigh of relief. "Merci Beaucoup Fromule! Tarima kasih!" he shouted, standing a moment, slightly in shock. A drink would definitely be in order after that. That thought having raced into his head, he thought it might be best to get off the stage, both for that purpose and in order to allow the next act to perform. At least he could watch the rest of the show, even if he held the expectations of a country on his shoulders...

by **Todlichebujoku** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 2:35 am

XX
Tödlichebujoku
"Supernova" - Ī Astoles

Language(s): English
Music: Teiyaka Mustonen, Aatos Hošinen, Encerso Lobo
Lyrics: Eimantee Beerzinssi, Alvis Sirviö
Tune: Night Argent - "Kamikaze"

It was a long journey to get here. Not just for the members of Ī Astoles, and not just because of the travel preparations, but also for Estegoa100. Both the broadcaster and the band had expected to participate in the World Hit Festival much earlier, and due to various reasons, had to postpone their involvement. For the broadcaster, it had been a rough time since hosting WHF51 in Sinnlichšukai. The budget was wrecked, and even when the finances looked fine, unexpected time skips in combination with an sudden emergency for their selected artists Sivartti Yataroo and Hajimee Heikkinen ended up postponing the Tödlichebujoki participation for multiple editions. Due to the ongoing emergency with Sivartti and Hajimee, Estegoa100 had to seek out a replacement... one which turned out to have been one that they themselves not too long ago had once planned to send.

Ī Astoles were originally penciled in for WHF49 in Alshkan, but due to a surprise awards show nomination, could not continue. Soon after, they were announced to represent Tödlichebujoku in WV79, but this time they were forced to shift the schedule of their tour due to a problematic manager and therefore were replaced by Kaapo Séélinen and DUYVIYÁ, who would go on to win that contest. However, Ī Astoles were still able to just barely manage to compete in Sinun Valintasi: Starfall, where they made it to the COLLISION final as one of the ECLIPSE qualifiers with their new song "Lock and Load". The voting details were myriad but easily accessible here, but in the end the band placed 6th out of 9 finalists. It wasn't a great result, but as Aatos noted in an interview, "it was great to be in the groundbreaking run of Starfall, it was definitely a fun time!" That said, Ī Astoles stepped out of the song contest arena after their Starfall participation, until Estegoa100 reached out to them to reconsider coming to the World Hit Festival. Excited about finally following through, and after making damn sure that their schedule was clear, the band agreed and found themselves flying off to Fromulya. Estegoa100, now flush with money saved from not participating in the past WHFs, put their money where their mouth was and shipped along a set of powerful projectors to add a little extra dazzle to the historic Fromulyan architecture. And now, here we are.

In the darkness, the stage just faintly glows a deep dark blue. As the music begins, waves of blue slowly and periodically ripple out from the center of the stage, echoed on the temples behind, and a pale light shines down upon the band. All dressed in black, they stand mostly still, Alvis with his eyes closed in the front. He takes a shaky breath, gripping the microphone tentatively

Stars erupt, I hear no sound
How I'm still screaming and no words come out
No words come out

I dream again, another sky
When my heart mattered and I felt alive
I felt alive

The camera view is close in on Alvis, and arcs around him, before cutting to another angle farther away that zooms toward him. Behind him, an array of pinpoint lights are projected onto the temples, like a starry sky glimmering in the Fromulyan night. Meanwhile, soft glimmering lights dance upon the band members, the camera capturing the feathery light effects. Alvis's expression is intense, as if experiencing a painful memory- something about his movements just seems.. frenetic, raw

Watch our galaxies collide into a chaos spin
Pull in two directions and I can't give in
The agony of losing you to everything
But when I turn around, I'm cast away

A number of spotlights converge on Alvis, forming what appears like a ball of light at his torso, mirrored by a circle of light forming on the floor beneath the band, and the projected "stars" behind them popping in bursts of light. Alvis's body language changes dramatically, as if invigorated by a great burst of energy, perhaps more like a last gasp with the associated hints of desperation, as he launches into the chorus with a much more focused gaze and projected voice

Can we take control, ohh..
Before my soul explodes
In a super, nova, super, nova?

Though we're worlds apart, ohh..
Could you sense my heart
Feel it super, nova, super, nova?

The stage fades back into relative darkness, with just the minimal lighting on the group. The camera view is close in, calm, steady. The band's outfits seem to shimmer with silver thread- was that always there or did it just activate just now, somehow? Alvis sings the chorus with a voice noticeably raw and gritty, having strained himself a bit with the chorus, but it matches the dark mood of the song. Let's call it "gritty with emotion". Running with that thought, in the faint light, he seems pale, almost hollow-eyed, echoing the desolation in the lyrics

Silence speaks, in deadened space
Our frozen embers gleam in empty wastes
In all these empty wastes

I miss your warmth, I miss your breath
Remember life lived before this icy death
Let me dream again, oh

His voice gains strength, as he calls to the one he lost, for them to remember, in order to reverse the tide return once again, with a yearning earned from years of drifting endlessly, alone. His gaze level with the audience, sweeping across from one side of the audience to the other, before returning his gaze to the camera view ahead of him

Watch our galaxies collide into a chaos spin
Pull in two directions and I can't give in
The agony of losing you to everything
But when I turn around, I'm cast away

A number of spotlights once again converge to form an orb of light in front of him, but this time, he "holds" it with his hand up high, with clever editing tricks ensuring that he is not washed out in the broadcast. The corresponding circle of light below him and his bandmates is obscured by a layer of fog, which is thus lit up by the light below it, creating an underglow effect on the group. Alvis steps forward, toward the edge of the stage, to be closer to the audience as he sings the chorus, putting all his energy into his performance

Can we take control, ohh..
Before my soul explodes
In a super, nova, super, nova?

Though we're worlds apart, ohh..
Could you sense my heart
Feel it super, nova, super, nova?

The stage fades into total darkness. Then, with the piano sequence, each member of the band is illuminated in a sequence by a single spotlight from above, before disappearing back into darkness: first Aatos, then Teiyaka, then Encerso, then Eimantee, then Alvis, who is at first seen with his head downwards

Do you feel alone?
Rogue, adrift, unknown

He raises his head as he launches back into the chorus, the orb of light swiftly re-forming in front of him, before the stage explodes in a brilliant flash of light when Teiyaka hits the drums, and sparks arc out into the air above the audience. As the audience regains their sense of sight, the mist at the band's feet is ringed in an aura of gold, orange, and violet like a nebula, colors that are echoed on the temples behind, where the star projection is filled with points of lights bursting into rings of sunset colors. Seizing the moment, Alvis jumps along the edge of the stage, as Encerso does the same heading toward the other side of the stage with his guitar. All the while, rings of pink and violet ripple out from center stage

Can we take control, ohh..
Before my soul explodes
In a super, nova, super, nova?

Though we're worlds apart, (though we're worlds apart)
Ohh..
Could you sense my heart
Feel it super, nova, super, nova?

As the music fades, the lights fade as well, leaving at first a range of sunset shades, and finally a deep red that fades into darkness

"Kiitos Brahmokerto!" Alvis shouts, followed soon after by Eimantee, who adds, "Thank you Fromulya!" They execute a quick half-bow before exiting the stage.

by **Togonistan** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 5:54 am

XX
Togonistan
"Freefall" - Ray Carter & The Gatherers

Language(s): English
Music: Ray Carter
Lyrics: Ray Carter
Tune: ''Shoreline'' — Broder Daniel

Ray Carter

Ray Carter & The Gatherers is a group originating from Edrana, Togonistan. Founded by Ray Carter, the now 36-year old musician and songwriter started out as a solo artist 10 years ago. Despite that, his rise to fame was a slow one. Ray started with posting acoustic covers of other artist's songs on the internet, followed by some original works of his as time went on. Slowly, Ray made himself sort of a name in the local Indie scene. As time went on, he sent a few songs to WorldVision national selection of Togonistan, but didn't find much success there. Still, his appearance in Togonifest helped him gain some fame and eventually, he met up with guitarist Jim Tufa, with whom he decided to found a band. Having recruited more members to their group, the band decided to name themselves The Gatherers. After being active for around a year, the band released their first album. Since no major record labels were interested in a deal with the band that was still considered to be rather underground, Ray Carter & The Gatherers published their debut album with their own expenses, mainly selling it in parking lots and various music festivals they performed at. Slowly and steadily though, they gained some fame and became more well known around the nation.

As the news about Togonistani WHF55 internal selection emerged, the band decided to try their luck and submitted a song. As they didn't keep high hopes, it came as a great surprise to them when they received a phonecall from the broadcaster, who offered them an opportunity to represent the nation in 55th World Hit Festival. The band obviously agreed, and thus, they started preparations for Fromulya.

Performance:

The band is standing on the stage with Ray Carter in front carrying a guitar. They are dressed casually in jeans and black T-shirts. Background screens show video footage of various worn-out apartment houses in the poorer parts of Edrana throughout the whole song. The footage is of home-made quality, being filmed through a car window with the camera is shaking a bit and the quality of colours being a bit off, similar to what is seen in older video footages from around the 90s. The band starts playing their instruments and Ray is singing the lead vocals while playing an electric guitar, with Jim a bit further back helping with backing vocals while playing a bass guitar. Beside them two, there is also a drummer and a keyboardist in the band.

Ever since the dawn of time
I've been stuck in a freefall
For all my life I've been walking
While slowly fading
I've lost my senses
And I've lost my head
I feel no tension
As I fade away

All this time
Been in a freefall
All this time
Been in a freefall

No longer am I wide and awake
Haven't been since the dawn of time
My head is up in the clouds
Closed inside my safe haven

I fade away
I'm fading away
I'm fading away
I'm a shadow
I'm just a shadow
A shadow of myself

All by myself i'm standing
While i'm slowly fading
Used to have times of laugh and joy
No more am I that boy

I fade away
I'm fading away
I'm fading away
I'm a shadow
I'm just a shadow
A shadow of myself

What is life?
What's there to live for?
What's there to live for?
Where's my place in this life?
Where's my place in this life?

The song ends with Ray putting his hand up and waving at the audience, who applauds to them for the performance. ''Thank you Brahmokerto! Terima kasih!''

by **Joija** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 7:00 am

XX
JOIJA
"WORTH DYING FOR" - PASTICHE

Language(s): English
Title Transcription: N/A
Title Translation: N/A
Music: Alex Linkager/Guinévere Romford/Janida Malkni
Lyrics: Janida Malkni
Tune: Brick — Ben Folds Five

SONG BACKGROUND

'Worth Dying For' is unlike the other songs on Pastiche's second album 'A Reason to Kill'. Deviating away from their grittier indie rock sound on their debut 'Moveaway', 'Worth Dying For' never even fit into 'A Reason to Kill'. It was almost a black sheep.

The song itself is a solemn piano ode to a friend who lost her life aged 21. Her story was all over the news for months after, and was a warning to never go out to sea during a storm.

The single cover shows a picture of an abandoned lifeboat bunker in southern Mahgalo.

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Pastiche started as a small music project consisting of bassist Alex Linkager (b. 1994), drummer and main songwriter Guinévere Romford (b.1993), and singer and keyboardist Janida Malkni (b.1994), who all met at the Arts University of Victoria in 2012. Their debut album 'Moveaway' became a national success, reaching to No. 3 on the Rock Album Supertop 50 in 2014. Their signature hit, 'Slow Hands', got to No. 1 on the Rock Single Supertop 50, and echoed the works of post-punk bands Heligo and Angry Man.

Pastiche was chosen by internal selection as Joija's first ever WHF contestants. AUV and JTV worked alongside to choose potential contestants and after a long decision process, Pastiche was picked out. However, the song was chosen by a national final, out of 'Worth Dying For', 'Goodnight Sunlight', 'No I in Team' and 'There's No Way Back'. All entires but 'Worth Dying For' were written by Guinévere Romford.

Alex Linkager
Alex Cheng Linkager (b. 9th August 1994 in Fleurvoren, Hoek River Province) is a Joijan bassist and broadcast engineer for Channel Seven. He studied Media and Broadcast Engineering at the Arts University of Victoria, later going to work for Channel Seven, alongside playing with Pastiche. He is married to Channel Seven weatherman Andras Laszlo.

Guinévere Romford
Guinévere Kaya Romford (b. 11th November 1993 in Ellesmere Port, UK) is a Joijan drummer. She studied Contemporary Music Theory and Performance at the Arts University of Victoria. She is currently the youngest drummer on the Joijan Highest Paid Drummers list. She is in a long-term relationship with artist Jaime Artana.

Janida Malkni
Janida Malkni (b. 17th May 1994 in Olpa Leeuw, Capital Province) is a Joijan singer and keyboardist. She studied Sound Engineering at the Arts University of Victoria. She is known for her distinctive contralto range comparable to Cher or Lauryn Hill. She lives in Port Samson, Victoria.

LYRICS

I bolt upright, at 4am
The phone is ringing on the desk
My brain is aching in my tired head
While the world is sleeping
I grab the phone

Driving down to her mom's house
She is tearing up inside
She says she went down to the coastline
And never returned that night

And I cried
Now that I have lost someone
I feel more numb
Than I ever have before

Was this all worth dying for?
Was this all worth dying for?
Was this all worth dying for?

Her dad got called at 6:30
They want him on the local news
The cameras flash outside his house
At the cliff, they found her shoes

And I cried
Now that I have lost someone
I feel more numb
Than I ever have before

Was this all worth dying for?
Was this all worth dying for?
Was this all worth dying for?

As weeks went by, it showed no signs of stopping
They told me "Why would she do such a thing?"
And I broke down
We all broke down
Cause we're all tired
Of lying

Going back to my apartment
I only felt more alone
She felt alone
He felt alone
We all knew it

Was this all worth dying for?
Was this all worth dying for?
Was this all worth dying for?

World Hit Festival 55 — Brahmokerto, Fromulya | Draft Thread

World Hit Festival 55 — Brahmokerto, Fromulya | Draft Thread

PEMECUTAN | TETAP DI HATI

XX | Britonisea | AIDA - MY FINAL PROMISE.

XX | Estogium | Felix Thompson - Feral

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