AS1/AFT|WHF59|Orongumilá, Achaean Rep.|IC Thread

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:01 pm

WHF NETWORK — OOC THREAD — DRAFT THREAD— PLAYLIST

She won. Nobody knew how she did it, but she won. It was a very fortuitous gamble that AS1 did by inviting Itamar to compete for the Achaean Republic last edition—but it happened. And she won. The trend-setting victory was still celebrated by the channel as a monumental exposure on both ratings and commercial sponsorships, which readily made them available to host the 59th World Hit Festival on Achaean soil. Polls and surveys conducted in the weeks and months after the victory concluded that Achaeans had vastly improved their understanding of LGBTQI+ concerns—and in particular the trans community—despite not always agreeing with their positions. For the empowered Achaean youth, Itamar’s victory provided hope and optimism of fostering a safe, tolerant, respectful and inviting nation for all. For the trans community, the visibility gained in Le Havre was priceless in understanding their plight, shameless boos and governmental defunding be damned. But for AS1 and longtime regional partner AFT, this also meant the opportunity to invite the world to Achaea once again.

Then they decided that a small city called Orongumilá would play the part of a welcoming host…

Over ten thousand people were packed on the Gran Arena Fortunense Antonio Guzmán on a very humid Saturday evening, all of them anxiously waiting for the competition to start. Prayers were made. Drinks were pouring in. Music was playing, albeit loudly and raucously. Unlike previous editions and quite like what was experienced in La Cañada, the whole arena turned to a fiesta and the alleyways and bleachers turned into a somewhat hazardous dance floor. It was an overwhelming experience, an intense sight to see, one that Instagrammers, Tik Tokers and other petty influencers enjoyed as they joined in on the party. The fast-paced rhythms of merengue played through the loudspeakers as the stage in the center counted down the minutes before showtime. It was quite hard to walk around, really, since the many were drinking and dancing on the way. The frenetic, convulsive and repetitive merengue beat also served as a trance, an invitation to people to dance, let loose and have fun. Still many in the audience brought their own instruments to join on the exuberant celebration: The guiro. The maraca. The congas. The heavy tambora. Anything was an excuse to party, and the World Hit Festival was an opportunity to celebrate the end of…something. At least that’s what the audience in Orongumilá is behaving, in the context of the waxing and waning pandemic. For the lucky tourists who got vaccinated and tested well enough to make the trip to the newly opened Achaean Republic, though, what they experienced was quite a treat.

An Axuvian tourist was eating a plate of arroz con gandules a lady brought for her family and somehow had left over in a huge iron pot. Two Britonish journalists were taking swigs of a questionable rum someone smuggled from the very busy front-gate security behind the arena. A group of Maltese Comino Gozoans hurriedly ran to the arena several minutes before closing after falling asleep in one of Orongumila’s beaches and catching a killer sunburn that not even aloe vera and warm compresses could soothe the stinging pain. But in the chaos, there was an unique sense of order—a very complex, Achaean sense of order that made sense of the chaos that was unfolding in the arena.
Behind the scenes, the broadcasters were anxiously scrambling during the last minutes in order to get ready for the competition that soon to start. Ernesto Vázquez, erstwhile executive director of the AS1 Special Events Directorate, alongside with Julio Ángel Graciani, the executive director of partner AFT, extended an arm to each other’s shoulders as a sign of hope and hesitation. He did it once back in La Cañada and, barring a few scoring incidents and an unfortunate protesting incident, the festival went off without a hitch—and with very few knowable coronavirus infections. The technicians were ready. The camera crew was ready. The performers were ready. They could only pretend to be ready and pull off the best festival hosting the Achaean Republic has seen.

Everybody in the crowd started counting down at once…¡Diez!…¡Nueve!…¡Ocho!…

The performers were getting ready to show their colors on stage and perform. It was quite hot in the annex where they were located—maybe it’s the oppressive Achaean heat and humidity crawling itself through the windows. Maybe it’s the low-grade powered air conditioning. Maybe it’s the nerves and the expectations that have the performers wound up in a feverish frenzy.

¡Siete…Seis…Cinco…Cuatro…Tres…Dos…Uno!

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:04 pm

Postcard| Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard | Entry| Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard | Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard | Entry| Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard | Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard| Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard| Entry| Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard| Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard | Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard| Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard | Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

Postcard| Entry | Phase One | Phase Two

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:07 pm

Viewers across the Multiverse could listen to the Opening Theme of the World Hit Festival onscreen. The delicate strings would invoke a certain classic timelessness that would contrast with the down-home tropical sounds viewers would be exposed to later. It was a quite thrilling and impressive sight for those watching on their TV sets, how much more for those in the arena! For the Achaeans, however, listening to those sounds on home soil filled them with such pride, something they sorely needed once the ultimate troubles in the country were ever brought to control. At least a night of music and alienation should suffice for some.

Then, viewers would be exposed to the rapid-fire percussion sounds of merengue, one of the most traditional Latin rhythms that would frequently be exposed tonight, having been imported from the neighborly Dominican Republic and implanted its signature in Achaea. For those unaccustomed to the fast-paced, hypnotic magnetism of merengue, there were three main elements being presented: the güira, a perforated metal cylinder scraped with a stiff brush; the tambora, a two-headed drum played on the lap and hit with a wooden beater on one hand and a bare hand on the other, its heads covered with strings and smoothened goatskin; and the conga, single-headed drums shaped like barrels. No faces could be seen on the opening scenes—only hands and fast-paced scene cuts with the other rapid cuts of the AS1, AFT and IBA logos. There was an image of walkers and drivers alongside the iconic Puente Atirantado, the cable-stayed bridge that became part of the Achaean postcard and gave an insight to the cross between past and present, civilized and savage that became part of the landscape of Orongumilá. There were also the many ingenios azucareros and trapiches that became part of the city’s colonial landscape, all of which were both beautiful and haunting. Each of these plantations contained years of glory and suffering, of opulence and misery almost living beside each other. And yet, one could see music being played through each of the estancias as many artisans still prepared their sugary confections by churning down the sugarcane the old-fashioned way. There were images of beaches, churches, music and free-flowing rum. There was also a Babalawo or two trying to fulfill one of their rituals. Each of these rapid-fire images reflected the beauty and pace of Orongumilá, with the shot ending at an image of Itamar wearing a red dress and walking across a dirt road while winking at the camera.

Behind her, the logo of the 59th World Hit Festival would be shown:

The views returned to the pitch-black Gran Arena Fortunense, where thousands were anxiously waiting for the show to begin. One could see the glimmers of light coming from the camera flashes and cell phones. The only light that could be seen on the stage were two teenagers, one taller and another one smaller and chubbier, carrying instruments. They congregated in the center where there were two chairs placed beside each other. The tall one sat on the left, and the chubbier one on the right. The tall one had a tambora and sat down with a wooden stick he picked out from his pocket, while the chubbier one stood up with a metal güira that looked brand new, but had its used brown pockets.

Once the first corte of the music was heard from them, the audience clapped. They knew who they were: they were the García brothers, Nico and Julien García, who became famous on TikTok for performing merengue covers of different songs during quarantine and were invited to play on various merengueros’ opening slots. The teen prodigies, who were also from the outskirts of Orongumilá, became a referential point of modern-day merengue for the youth. And with each corte would bring even louder cheers from the Achaean crowd.

For those that didn’t understand the appeal, however, it felt like a bunch of noise. What was the appeal of scraping a banged-up piece of metal with a glorified hair comb and a wooden stick with a drum? Doesn’t that sound…primitive? A barrel and a scraper, making music that would break people’s fingers and step on toes. But the Achaeans, many of those who grew up listening or even playing these merengue tunes, were living with the touch. It never takes much for an Achaean to party, and the García brothers were starting it off on the right foot.

With each corte came a radical new tune that seemed to be going faster for some and slower for others. But one could not deny the talent and dexterity the brothers had as they whittled down each beat. And mind you, dear viewer, the boys picked up these instruments by themselves.

Once the boys were done, they curtseyed to the crowd and waved to the adoring audience. And then more music played as they ran to the right side of the stage.

Suddenly, the entire stage burst into an explosion of music and color. Many performers ran across the ramps beside the center stage dressed as green-and-mustard-yellow sugarcane plants and carrying fronds in their arms. They were running, moving, circling, dancing, swaying left and right the way the sugar cane plants would move by the wind in the plantation. But they kept their energy throughout the music.

The stage cheered for Juan Alfonso Patria, one of Achaea’s foremost merengueros and musicians. His powerful lyrics and clever wordplay have earned him the title of El Poeta del Cañaveral, “The Poet of the Sugarcane Plantations,” coming from the outskirts of Rosario and experiencing a complete world hidden under the tropical sun. With his trademark beret and flannel, he carried his trademark guitar and began playing in the center stage and sang. Other musicians popped around from the human sugarcane implanted on each side of the stage. Someone had an accordion. Another burly man popped up with a tambora and another one with a conga. Still another had a guiro not unlike the one the García boys had—and of course, the siblings were there, playing their instruments on a corner.

Although quite idealized, this depiction of the musical joy in the sugarcanes is a reflection of Orongumilá’s—and Achaea’s—past, present and future. There was no ill will nor malice, nor mistreatment or injustice. Yes, these things existed in the past and over 500 years of history cannot be erased overnight. But part of the Achaean ethos is to find joy over the simplest of things, enjoying life as it comes, having fun and making friends with adversity while drinking a nice, cold glass of beer or taking a nice shot of rum.

Dame un poquto de agua’e melao
Dame un poquto de agua’e melao
Sabe jugosito cuando está quema’o
Sabe jugosito cuando está quema’o

Así es que te quiero dulce y enamora’o
Porque no me quiero quedar enjabona’o
Es un sube y baja que yo lo he gana’o
Así mismo dicen yo me quedo da’o
Lo que me he comido me cayó pesa’o
Pero yo te veo y ya estoy cura’o
Así es que te quiero dulce y enamora’o
¡Qué bien!

Ay qué sabroso, ay qué sabroso
Ay qué sabroso, ay qué sabroso
Ay qué sa-, Ay qué sa-,
Ay qué sa-, Ay qué sa-,
Ay, qué sabroso, madre mía
Que yo te beso en la boquita
Y tú mueves la cinturita
¡Te mueves bien!

Around the stage, several scenes were providing and even more chaotic depiction of life in the sugarcanes. Barefoot children were playing with sticks and a worn baseball, the sport being Achaea’s national pastime. In another corner, a wedding was happening, and the lovers were happily dancing in their best dress while their families had fun. Still another scene on a corner had shirtless young men jumping over a fogata, a makeshift bonfire: fire is a sacred symbol for Achaeans, and in some places across the country and not just Orongumilá, many people attempt to jump through bonfires in a dangerous test of guts and bravery with oftentimes scorching results. But in another corner there were women frying sweets made with the extracted guarapo or melaza brought by the sugarcane.

One could be mistaken to point out the apparent poverty seen by the chaos and confusion experienced on stage. Some Achaeans would be mistaken to see that, too. But that is the reality for many in the Fortune Islands, especially on the outskirts of Rosario and other Afro-Achaean cities. But there was happiness, joy, and a gleeful sense of opportunity that could be found in their faces—and fond memories for other Achaeans who grew up in these humble settings.

Dame un dulcecito, dame tu boca’o
Dame un dulcecito, dame tu boca’o
Aunque está muy dulce, lo siento sala’o
Aunque está muy dulce, lo siento sala’o

Así es que te quiero dulce y enamora’o
Porque no me quiero quedar enjabona’o
Es un sube y baja que yo lo he gana’o
Así mismo dicen yo me quedo da’o
Lo que me he comido me cayó pesa’o
Pero yo te veo y ya estoy cura’o
Así es que te quiero dulce y enamora’o
¡Qué bien!

Ay qué sabroso, ay qué sabroso
Ay qué sabroso, ay qué sabroso
Ay qué sa-, Ay qué sa-,
Ay qué sa-, Ay qué sa-,
Ay, qué sabroso, madre mía
Que yo te beso en la boquita
Y tú mueves la cinturita
¡Te mueves bien!

The fast-paced beat of the merengue had part of the crowd dancing in their seats or with any partners beside them (damn all social distancing!). For Achaeans, such scenes were very normal and part of the country’s jovial, festive culture. The cameras would quickly switch between the happenings on the stage and the bleachers, with glances of the already crowded green room on a side of the arena, surrounded by the public. The liquor was flowing and the nervous performers were enjoying the events. Some were even dancing a little or jamming in their seats, while others were apparently quite worried that they would be whisked away to an obscure bathhouse somewhere in the outskirts of the city (spoiler alert: there are none and that is a frivolous stereotype). Still others remained quite overwhelmed at the intense cacophony of sounds and flavors and music in the arena, to the point where it froze some while energized others to give their best on their respective performances. But who could tell which is which?

No me niegues, negra, yo no te ne hega’o
No me niegues, negra, yo no te ne hega’o
Aunque es un poquito, nada es obliga’o
Aunque es un poquito, nada es obliga’o

Así es que te quiero dulce y enamora’o
Porque no me quiero quedar enjabona’o
Es un sube y baja que yo lo he gana’o
Así mismo dicen yo quedo da’o
Lo que me he comido me cayó pesa’o
Pero yo te veo y ya estoy cura’o
Así es que te quiero dulce y enamora’o
¡Qué bien!

Ay qué sabroso, ay qué sabroso
Ay qué sabroso, ay qué sabroso
Ay qué sa-, Ay qué sa-,
Ay qué sa-, Ay qué sa-,
Ay, qué sabroso, madre mía
Que yo te beso en la boquita
Y tú mueves la cinturita
¡Te mueves bien!

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:09 pm

The final strings of the accordion gave way to a small boom! that led into a thunderous applause from the crowd. A few bars of music later, the whole group of performers quickly left the stage on both ends and out came Dania Pacheco and Laura Hamilton, the edition’s two hosts. Pacheco was wearing a white mini dress with long sleeves and a romantic boho lace bodice that also had long, ruffled sleeves. She also wore white Manolo Blahnik white satin jewel buckle stiletto pumps with frizzy black hair and toned-down makeup that complimented her dark skin. Hamilton, on the other hand, wore an emerald green jumpsuit with a bedazzled drawstring accessory belt. She also had a ponytail and wore stylish matte emerald green heels with bedazzled fimbriations. The two hosts walked towards each other and greeted with two kisses on the cheek. They also waved at the audience surrounding them, before things died down and they were able to speak.

DANIA PACHECO & LAURA HAMILTON: Good evening, Multiverse!

DANIA PACHECO: ¡Buenas noches, Multiverso!

LAURA HAMILTON: Bonsoir, Multivers!

DANIA PACHECO & LAURA HAMILTON: And welcome to the 59th World Hit Festival!

LAURA HAMILTON: We are so glad to invite you after several editions away to the Queen of Sugar for this fabulous competition—Orongumilá!

DANIA PACHECO: That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! The World Hit Festival is back in the Achaean Republic and we are more than excited to be here with you all, sharing our beautiful islands’ wonder and culture and music—

LAURA HAMILTON: And desserts!

DANIA PACHECO: Oh, yes—that’s right! Our desserts are scrumptious and fantastic! But most of all, music is sweet, and we’re honored that we get to sweeten up your eyes and ears once more.

LAURA HAMILTON: Hmm-hmm, and none of that Splenda crap.

DANIA PACHECO: Laura! Shh! As I was saying, were are here in the Achaean Republic thanks to our trendsetter queen Itamar—(The crowd began cheering loudly for her. Some jokesters were playfully booing so as to provide an air of detraction, but it was not done—hopefully—out of malice or ill will. Many started banging pots, scraping their instruments, or even clanging their feet to show a raucous crowd to the world. Some viewers could also hear a few “¡Fueguero, carajo!”, the equivalent to “Fuck yeah, Fuegueros!” that is used as a rallying cry for any major event—fueguero being the national pet name for the Achaeans.) Who gave us the right to host the contest in her hometown, right here in Orongumilá, where we will find out who will be its worthy successor.

LAURA HAMILTON: I cannot wait to see what have the delegations come up with! This is so exciting, don’t you think!

DANIA PACHECO: Yes, girl, I am shaking!

LAURA HAMILTON: But what matters right now is you getting to enjoy the sweet musical sounds from our participants who will perform for your votes and have a chance at glory and—who knows?—maybe even host the diamond edition of the World Hit Festival! Who will win? Well, it’s up to you to find out!

DANIA PACHECO: When we open the voting lines for 15 minutes, you are able to vote up to 20 times for your favorite country by phone, text or SMS, online at http://www.worldhitfestival.tv, by the official World Hit Festival app, or by WhatsApp if your country allows this. You can choose from only the songs listed here, no more and no less. Oh! And we must warn you as always, you cannot vote for your own country. May we have the French translation, please?

LAURA HAMILTON (voiceover): Bien sûr vous pouvez ! Lorsque nous ouvrons les lignes de vote pendant 15 minutes, vous pouvez voter jusqu'à 20 fois pour votre pays préféré par téléphone, SMS, en ligne sur http://www.worldhitfestival.tv, via l'application officielle du World Hit Festival ou par WhatsApp si votre pays le permet. Vous pouvez choisir uniquement parmi les chansons répertoriées ici, ni plus ni moins. Oh! Et nous devons vous avertir comme toujours, vous ne pouvez pas voter pour votre propre pays. I think that should be enough, right?

DANIA PACHECO: Perfect, querida! That was perfect!

LAURA HAMILTON: (curtsy and bows to audience) Thank you! Gracias!

DANIA PACHECO: I guess it’s time to begin this very sweet musical journey! Okay, in [i]tres, dos, uno…

DANIA PACHECO & LAURA HAMILTON: Let the 59th World Hit Festival begin!

Fireworks flew through the four corners and the center square of the stage. Lights cracked up in each of the bridges connecting to the main stage, lighting up the arena with intense fire. The crowd surrounding them was living for the moment, appreciating the theatrics while cheering for each and every crowd. As the hosts slowly departed, the first entry was setting up its performance..

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:11 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:13 pm

01
Britonisea
Josh Morris - "Mine"
Language(s): English
Tune: Irama - La genesi de tuo colore
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: BRI
Lyrics: Atekon Shipton, Josh Morris
Music: Jayden Christopher, William Cross

Can Josh Morris bring it back to Brit?: As the country nears the 60th World Hit Festival, Britonisea is pulling out all the stops to hopefully clinch victory, potentially giving the broadcaster an offer they simply couldn't refuse...

After the nation's first-ever bronze medal and fourteenth podium position, Britonisea's form seems to be repairing after a shaky beginning to the WHF50s. As we say goodbye to the turbulent 50s, pressure lays on VM2021 third-placed to act, Josh Morris to bring the Festival back to Britonisea after the nation's longest wait for a win since the 37th World Hit Festival...

While the 50s gave Britonisea two of its seven wins, Meghan Jorgensen's "Waiting For You" and ELIANA's "Tongue-Tied" which both scored two of Britonisea's highest scores at the Festival and arguably had the most chart success of all of Britonisea's seven wins at the Festival, no one can deny that the 50s have also been the hardest for the country which saw a return to double figures in the final placements with Todlichebujoku's first hosting of the 50s (in 51) resulting in a Britonish 12th place - a result which hadn't been seen in 32 editions (coincidentally at the rival WorldVision Song Contest only recently, Britonisea had only recently received its worst position 36 editions). A couple of editions later when Britonisea hosted spectacularly with the added pressure of Semi-Finals, the country automatically qualified but came 10th in the final - another lower than the average result for the country who had frequented top five positions during the 40s. Many had wondered whether the best days of Britonisea had finally come to an end as newer, fresher, and more unique nations started to climb up the scoreboard and challenge the dominating presence that came in the form of Britonisea and Izmedu, who - in contrast to Britonisea - has taken a step back from the Festival since the turn of the decade. People wondered whether BVC and Britonisea should do the same, but BVC weren't quitters. The period between World Hit Festival 50 and 52 saw three different Heads of Delegations for Britonisea but Tom Stardust - our current Head of Delegation - was responsible for the most recent victory by ELIANA. Following the triumphant run by the current World Hit Festival Overseer (who during his reign managed and won four WHF titles), it was always going to be hard to keep up Britonisea's success and he whilst "Tongue-Tied" provided him with a massive ego boost, Tom Stardust started to realise that managing the contest was going to be much difficult than he once thought. After the placement in Bovingdon (which was fine because 10th place was seen as good in a field of 33 nations especially when you consider that there was a Semi-Finals stage too), Tom hoped that the Britonish could return to a podium finish, but similarly to their World Hit Festival 51 performance, the team at BVC scored less than 20 points for the next two editions in a row, a fate Britonisea managed to avoid for nine editions straight during the 40s. There's no doubt that Britonisea held the World Hit Festival with great respect and so when the result wasn't what was expected, probably due to Britonish complacency at the Festival, the country does not react rather well to it. Though, the next orchestral edition of the Festival was upon us with Britonisea having won the last one held at the 46th World Hit Festival. There was much discussion about what Britonisea would go on to send in Todlichebujoku who had the pleasure of hosting twice in 5 editions. Despite international fans thinking that Britonisea would go for a rock-orchestral song like it did last time, they went in the opposite direction, sending a six-minute french and english ballad which managed to earn them 2nd place with 34 points which was not too far away from the victory at all. The Britonish Delegation were thrilled at the result, and even though their initial plan was to win with "Enchante", they could be proud that they returned to the podium position after a period of uncertainty. At the 57th World Hit Fesitval, James Benamar's "Quicksand" placed a respectable fifth, another 20+ points haul that Britonisea could pocket as we moved closer to the 60th World Hit Festival. This leads us to the 58th World Hit Festival which was recently held in Normandy and Picardy...

Now while a win for Normandy & Picardy was long overdue, the nation had done the double and bookies thought that the country could've won another gold medal at the Festival which meant that the team at BVC felt pressured by not only the Britonish fans but also themselves to go out and do a bit more to try and bring the Festival back home to the Headquarters of the World Hit Festival. For Britonish fans protective of their record, they didn't want yet another nation to place above them in the all-time league table as Normandy and Picardy stood on seven wins alongside Britonisea. Though, the country was sending stellar acts and while Britonisea arguably was once doing the same in its past, there was a tough search for the Britonish representative this edition. Liam Narain was selected as the Britonish representative - but he wasn't supposed to in the beginning. Backstage gossip suggests that a female artist was supposed to head to Le Havre, but was dropped in favour of Liam. Liam's World Hit Festival live performance debut was rather late, with the song first being heard during the Vha Mehlodhivestoile 2021 live final when usually it is heard during the Semis. The song did gain a lot more traction than it usually gets, however, with the song immediately appearing on the charts of streaming websites across Britonisea. Performing third in the Grand Final, Liam performed his strong power ballad which saw Liam receive 21 points in Phase One - placing in joint second at the time. Togonistan and Adab were the two nations generous enough to give Britonisea five points, placing the country on 31 points and 2nd place before the last vote from Todlichebujoku. How Todlichebujoku would vote was unknown, but despite the nation hoping for the best, in the end, Todlichebujoku gave their 5 points to the Achaean Republic who ended up winning. Britonisea scored 3rd place with 31 points which was a very good score for Liam and the team. It was now time to focus ahead to the 59th World Hit Festival and there wasn't much need to look far and wide for an act to represent Britonisea. This time, the nation had the handy use of Vha Mehlodhivestoile where they could pick songs from their disposal.

"Doing so well at VM2021 was shocking! I really appreciated the support - bring on the World Hit Festival, I say!"

- Josh Morris after the VM2021 Grand Final a month ago...

It was announced that the BVC would choose any song from Vha Mehlodhivestoile that they think would do well at the World Hit Festival no matter where they placed but announced during the show, Josh Morris would go on to represent Britonisea at the upcoming World Hit Festival with his third place at the national final making him the frontrunner for the producers at BVC. Looking back to Vha Mehlodhivestoile 2021, Josh Morris performed in what turned out to be the most difficult Semi-Final with there being four qualifiers into the Grand Final coming from that one Semi-Final. With 104 points in the end, Josh Morris managed to secure himself a spot in the Grand Final but he only placed third with the eight international juries that voted in that competition and came second with the Britonish fans. After a month passed, it was time for Josh to once again perform his song - now in front of a larger audience. Performing in Aloquirbe, in position number 11, Josh Morris had a good chance of winning with odds looking in his favour ahead of the Grand Final. When analysing the results after, Josh managed to come second in the Britonish televote, with 182 points, third behind Rochelle Fox and TR3SANGULIS. Looking at the international vote, while the international televote ranked Josh 6th out of 12 songs (with a very respectable 71 points), the juries loved him, giving him 2nd place - only 8 points from leaders, Darlington. This gave BVC enough confidence that Josh Morris would be a suitable candidate to send to the World Hit Festival and he most certainly wanted to go - no one even needed to ask him.

Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin hadn't won the World Hit Festival for what would be now seven editions which translates to a full and complete year without a win. There have been close misses, however, with the country coming second and third at the 56th and 58th World Hit Festival, with a couple of top 5 finishes along the way since Bovingdon '53. The broadcaster grew slightly hungrier as the nation waits yet again for another win after missing out by a matter of a few points. Liam Narain did a fantastic job however, and definitely exceeded the expectations of the viewers who thought that a simple male ballad would fail to make an impact on the scoreboard. Liam said that he loved to experience and is something that he is willing to try again in the future. With that being said, the attention now turns to Josh Morris who was the current Britonish representative. He had a huge task on his hands - at the end of the day, of the eighteen nations that are participating in the World Hit Festival, Britonisea had the best record - and was ranked in the first position for the pots with quite some distance between first and second place. Some of the major hitters weren't participating in this edition such as Normandy and Picardy, Todlichebujoku and Izmedu - despite initial rumours that their broadcast would finally come back to the festival. There were even whispers about Euskirribakondara coming back - but none of this materialised. To round off the 50s decade, a smaller edition than what we have experienced - especially as of late - but definitely one that was going to be wide open. Who was going to host the 60th World Hit Festival? It was unclear, but whoever was to host, they must know that it would be a huge task if we're using the 40th and 50th World Hit Festival as an example of what is to come at the 60th edition. It would also be the final competitions for current World Hit Festival overseer Guy Autriche who only experienced one home edition of the Festival; compared to Fabio McAlpine's three. Perhaps that is just showing Britonisea's fortunes at the Festival - was the nation finally toppled by the likes of Normandy and Picardy and newer nations?

The first camera cut: Josh Morris can be seen facing the camera, but you can't see his face...

Josh Morris wasn't too thrilled about opening the show - it was a task that Britonisea hadn't done before at the World Hit Festival (or well, not in recent memory anyway). BVC was hoping that for the first time in the 50s, the country would be drawn in the second half just to spice things up - but it seemed as though that wasn't going to be the case - always destined for the first half. Cancelling out the 51st and 58th World Hit Festival, Britonisea was always expected to perform in the latter half of the running order of the first half, but due to the added clause which sees the first and last (well, the penultimate performance since Achaean Republic was suspiciously drawn to close the show), Britonisea was chosen to open the show. Compared to where he performed in Vha Mehlodhivestoile - both times in the second half - this was completely different for him but after his initial disappointment, he was excited to get on the stage. He wanted to set a great standard for the competition and with the song that he has - he would definitely try his hardest. Minutes after the show started, Josh Morris was whisked away backstage where the man started his myriad of vocal and breathing exercises in preparation for what would be the biggest performance of his life. He knew that not as many Britonish people would be watching as they did in Vha Mehlodhivestoile but he knew that the World Hit Festival had a big international appeal - more so than the ever-growing popular national final. He knew that this would the performance in which people remember him from and so that was a huge task. As he took a deep breath in, one of the Achaean stage personnel grabbed him - rather inappropriately for his standards - around the arm and said to him, "It's your time on the stage now." Josh Morris left out a nervous laugh as he was pulled along the corridor towards the main stage - his delegation following him very closely but also respecting social distancing measures that we're sure the Achaeans didn't really care that much about.

As he moved onto the big stage, he was greeted by the waft of thousands of people sitting in the arena tonight. The stage was an odd one - not only was it in 360, but it was a square - almost as though it was a boxing ring with people watching the performers battling it out. He wondered how the Achaeans would do the scoreboard in the arena near the end of the show, but I guess that was something he would find out at the end. It was interesting that the Britonish performance was first - in all honesty, it made sense. Britonisea wanted to excel in the staging category and bag another award this time duly sponsored by Fuego Airlines or whatever Achaean company wanted to exposure. There was a huge black box with an opening on one of the sides. The black box was around 3 metres tall and would be quite intricate to film. There were lights all along the edges of the block in order for dimensions to be seen clearly - but also strobe lights in the box itself. The top of the box was clear as well, with there being no lights apart from the bright spotlights being on display to give the illusion that was another black wall above him. The staging took some time to set up and we're sure that the stage personnel started during the host intervention. Josh took one last breath as the postcard came to an end. Josh enjoyed tasting the sweet treats that Orongumilá had to offer - slightly smiling to himself as he had memories of filming that postcard - a story that he couldn't wait to share with everyone at the end of the Festival.

It was time for the performance and the first thing that audiences could see is the masculine outline of Josh Morris' chest upwards. As shown on the image above, you couldn't see Josh Morris' facial features at all - just his body and he slightly swayed along with the heavenly strings at the beginning of the song. There were going to be a lot of personal shots of Josh Morris throughout the performance with the team at BVC wanting to create a confused and dysfunctional mood on the stage.

Before you leave, let me speak...
Let me say what went through my head
I'm not here to fight, not here to raise my voice, no
Don't want no back and forth, I'm in the wrong, I know

During the first section of the song, it was almost sung as though it was spoken word. You could tell that the words that were being said were personal to him - it was almost as though he was speaking to the woman in his life. Josh Morris penned this song himself - lyrics-wise and had Jayden Christopher and William Cross write the song that matched the themes that he came up with within his head. Essentially, the song is a real-life account of the things that went wrong between him and his partner. It is something that he is ashamed of but he has the courage to hold his head up and admit to the things that he did wrong. There would be times in the past where Britonish lyricists would try and fine-tune the lyrics in the song but making it grammatically correct, but Josh wanted it to be in exactly the way he speaks in day-to-day life. Thus, in the lyrics such as "Don't want no", it wasn't changed but you could tell that the words were true to him and that was the essence that they wanted to bring to the stage. At the national final, Josh Morris' song had way past 80 camera cuts and ahead of the performance in the Achaean Republic, they really had to think about whether that was feasible - could the Achaeans do it? The camerawork in both the countries was bound to be different, but Josh wanted to keep a load of the elements that he had at the national final with one of those elements being the flickering camera angles and whatnot so after some clear directions from the team at BVC, they took a risk but doing such a high energy performance in Orongumilá. Throughout the first verse, apart from the first line which was focused on Josh Morrris' face - we started to show different parts of his body - such as his hands, before showing his chest which - in and amongst the darkness - had a red beam pointing at him, similar to the ones you'd find if you were about to be shot. The lights which lined the bottom of the box flickered with low intensity, with parts of Josh Morris being shown in between the shaky and quick camera jumps. As we moved into the next verse of the song, you could hear Alexei Posagne - the name of the main backing vocalist humming in the back, repeating some of the words that Josh Morris was singing. The pair of them get on very well as they both had quite similar voices which jelled pretty well when singing.

Hear me out as I make one final plea, I'm begging, I'm begging
I'm brought to my knees, don't ignore me
Just one more chance, I'm not asking for much
Then our future's in your hands, will you decide to stay?
Will you leave?

As we move into the thirty-second mark in the performance, there was a remarkable difference, as the strobes turned on all around which exposed Josh Morris completely, from a shot slightly further away to show the huge expanse of the box in which he was standing in. Josh Morris slightly tilted his head backwards, swaying along to the song, and tightly grasping his palm as he begged the person he was singing to. You could hear some cheers from the audience as strobes lit up the box around him - showing him in and amongst the light. His white shirt blended in with the background slightly as Alexei sang that first line of the pre-chorus with him - the echoic reverb sending waves throughout the arena. As Josh sang "don't ignore me" along with Alexei - he tightly closed his eyes and went to the top of his vocal range in order to correctly hit the notes. He was told by his vocal coach to go over the notes as though he was on a mountain, slightly increasing the dynamics/volume of the note as he gained more confidence with those three words. With the help of Alexei, he managed to clear that note before moving onto the next line - with a closer camera shot focusing on one of his eyes as he asked for one more chance. As the mention of hands was brought up, similarly to a shot before, we focused on his hand as he moved it up to his face and outwards - his facial expression one of serious doubt. There was a sense of sadness in his eyes as he finished the chorus - transmitting the sense of guilt he feels for wrecking the relationship between him and the person he still loves.

A sketch of the box: Here is what the box looks like without Josh Morris standing in it - the box is about 3 metres tall...

With the first sections of the song being rather simple but intricate with the staging - for this section of the song - the lights started flashing erratically, fitting along with the camera shots which would change along with every drum beat - especially during the first few lines of the chorus which otherwise was quite quiet. Each of these shots would be moving - even if it was ever so slightly, but just to make the performance seem dynamic and still visually interesting. The red light that was once there was gone now, with the flashing lights from each of the lamps on the stage along with the pulsating beat of the song. As we moved closer to the end of the chorus, and the instrumental - Josh Morris interacted with the camera a little bit more. Lights similar to this was being seen for a matter of seconds during the instrumental section at the end of the chorus which is the reason that there was an epileptic warning at the start of this performance! As it can look rather jarring if it happened for a long period of time, this section was only very short and would happen once - with the high contrast between the black or white not being the most comfortable thing to watch. Luckily, due to the changing camera cuts and the focus of Josh Morris who always took up most of the screen, the audience watching at home didn't have to endure the full effect of it making it more comfortable for those sitting at home.

Mine, you were mine,
The fault's mine, threw away all we had.
Lie - my way through life, karma bites
Now I gotta live with...live with what I've done

The motorised-sounding voice added to the theme as well and the friction - made the song seem slightly off which is what Josh wanted. As he sang the final line - he sang it out towards the audience, before looking out into nothingness with confidence. With the use of a gobo with prison cell bars cut out in front of the light, creating a picture such as this one, it looked as though Josh was behind bars - which obviously relates to what he is singing about. There were flashing deep Britonish blue and red lights around him which signified the colours you'd universally find on police cars - which is the type of vibe that Josh wanted to go for. Josh was happy with how the performance was going so far, and while he wanted to smile and be all happy during the performance, he knew that he had to remain focused and stay in character. You could see that as he thought this, his facial expressions changed slightly to become more poised and rearing for the next part of the performance - there was a sense of determination in his eyes - there was one thing on his mind and it was showing the world the talent that comes out of his nation...he wanted to make his country proud. As he sung through the lyrics of the second verse - or stanza if you wish - he slightly lowered his head before rocking from side to side in an abstract way (especially when Alexei came in what was a call and response thing going on between the pair of them). There were frantic camera cuts, similar to before, from all angles - including an overhead shot or two. During the final call and response, there was a quick zoom from a point further away, slightly breaking the illusion but not too much as the rest of the arena was quite dark anyway.

Drank myself into oblivion, caused a scene
(Put...your hands behind your back,
Lower your head, get into the back, and shut up)
Didn't know what I had done (How do you plead on the account of..)
Couldn't remember last night (You're sentenced to...)

As he sang the lyric, "Yeah, you warned me", the gobo looked like tumbling bricks which Josh Morris reacted to by also falling to his knees as well at the same speed as the bricks which fell around him. He then sang the high note once again with "I couldn't stop", as the lights flickered with him. A shot caught Josh while he was on the floor but the man slowly picked himself back up like he did after being ridiculed for going to prison. During 1:37 where there was a static sound, there was a similar flash of light as well which looked like electrocution, with Josh Morris holding himself high up, before dropping once again, but this time keeping on his feet. There was a shot as Josh stepped heavily on the ground before it trailed the front of his body to his eyes as he sang how the pain was strong. The lights slightly died down once again as he moved towards the end of the pre-chorus.

Yeah, you warned me, I couldn't stop
Was stuck in a rut 'cuz the pain was strong
But after time in solitude, I visualised the light ahead

Mine, you were mine,
The fault's mine, threw away all we had.
Lie - my way through life, karma bites
Now I gotta live with...live with what I've done
All the pain that I've caused.
Didn't want to hurt you, I hate seeing you cry,
Your wounds, they'll heal with time and I'll face what I've done.

A wide shot of the whole stage for a split second as we moved into the chorus before we went back to the box with it being more of a technicolour display, lights interchanging (but with different colours such as black and white, with a hint of deep blue). Josh Morris continued to sing with his heart throughout this longer chorus which would lead into the bridge section of the song. Josh felt as though he was nearly at the end. As he explains that he didn't want to hurt, you could see the sorry in his facial expressions as he touches his own face, closing his eyes gently at his own touch trying to imagine that it was his partner's touch. It was the obligatory steadicam time of the performance as we moved onto the bridge section. The camera came to him while the lights were playing up and flickering, circling rather quickly around him and at points exposing the audience behind him who were plunged in darkness but all had their torches out. There was then a shot looking up at him as he extended his arm with - the one without the microphone with a huge shadow appearing in front of him thanks to the overhead lights.

You were my forever,
I know that I betrayed your trust,
Could you forgive me for what I'd done?
I know that our love for one another is still there,
I can see it, I can still see it in your eyes...

At the end of the climax of the song, each of the sides of the box falls over (similar to this, but in this example, it was curtains that were used instead of it being actual sides). As the sides of the box collapse, there was a huge applause in the arena for Josh Morris and his countries. Thousands of people around had their mobile phone torches out with Josh almost surrounded by a sea of lights - which was a great shot from further away in the arena. As we moved into the final chorus and everything slowed down for a hot minute, we were then greeted to a circle of fresnel lights and strobes all around him 360 with one of the cameras focusing on the lights before swiveling around to Josh Morris who was waiting for the camera to face him again. He had a very serious facial expression on him which slowly tuned into one of hope as we moved into the final chorus of the song.

Mine, you were mine,
The fault's mine threw away all we had.
Lie - my way through life, karma bites.
Now I gotta live with...

Didn't want to hurt you, I hate seeing you cry,
Your wounds, they'll heal with time and I'll face what I've done. (the fault, it is all mine)
You might not trust me but I'll admit when I am wrong. (the fault, it is all mine)
I hope we'll reconcile and restore what we had.

(The fault, it is all mine)

At the end of the song, there were a lot of bright lights from every light source in the arena before they all quickly switched off and turned pitch black, and then there was nothing on the stage. There was a roar at the end, with our Achaean friends supporting us every step of the way as they always do - "Thank you, gracias!" Josh Morris shouts out into the vast darkness. It was time now for the nation with the longest name in the competition...

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:17 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:18 pm

02
New Zealandic South West Saint Martin
Tee-Bee-Aye - "Let's Commit a Crime!"
Language(s): English
Tune: Brian David Gilbert & Karen Han - we like watching birds
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: SSM
Lyrics: Lisa Doorstaupe
Music: Gerald Saansbrujs

Let’s commit a crime!
Let’s all run from the police today!
Let’s commit a crime!
We’ll embezzle, won’t cost a dime.
Every employee will be so
Confused why half their money’s gone!
Oh yes, let’s commit a crime,
Now why don’t you join in here too?

Let’s commit a crime,
We’ll go robbing the bank with guns and knives.
Let’s commit a crime!
Invade a guy’s privacy!

From the big crimes to the small,
We’ll go out and commit then all!
Come on, let’s commit a crime,
We’ll steal an old woman and hide her in the Sainsbury’s.

Let’s commit a crime!
What other crimes are there to do?
Let’s commit a crime,
I have an insatiable thirst!

I have done money laund’ring,
I have done some white collar crimes,
Come on, let’s commit a crime,
And we’ll someday be granted ascent!

Let’s commit a crime,
We will worship those above,
We pay in blood and other people’s fortunate demise,
We shall join in a circle,
We shall chant of those we see,
We are naught but those who shan’t resist the great all-seeing eye!

Let’s commit a crime!
Let’s go rob a grandpa who is blind!
Let’s commit a crime!
The bloodshed is inevitable!
From the petty to the large,
We won’t be guided by those in charge!
For now, let’s commit a crime,
And one day we’ll be rich too!

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:18 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:19 pm

03
ADAB
Hasan al-Jafar and Sania Sadiq - "The Children's Battle"
Language(s): English
Tune: Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry - 7 Seconds
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: ADB
Lyrics: Hasan al-Jafar, Sania Sadiq
Music: Hasan al-Jafar, Sania Sadiq

Hasan al-Jafar and Sania Sadiq

Background
Adab’s participation in the 58th World Hit Festival, which marked their return to the event after an absence of a decade and a half, saw them place a respectable 10th place out of 22 competing nations. ABC insiders had always had mixed feelings about Aisha al-Badri’s “Sail”, wondering if a lyrically dark song about the plight of refugees would perform well in the event. Making it into the top 10 – even if only barely – was far from a failure though, and in any case ABC Director-General Benji Akiya was quick to remind the board and ABC employees that winning was not and would not be their main objective in the WHF and WorldVision. The world had been exposed to the best of Adabian music, and they liked it enough to send it to the top 10. That, in Benji’s view, equaled to a triumph.

With the 59th edition inching closer, Benji and the ABC Board hunkered down to decide what approach they would take for Adab’s next entry. Aisha al-Badri’s harrowing, yet inspiring life story, combined with her performance at the WHF, had further increased the Adabian public’s interest in the festival, something which the board kept in mind, no doubt still concerned by accusations that they were treating the WHF as a “second-rate WorldVision”. Benji and the board were eager to demonstrate that they were taking the WHF seriously, and al-Badri’s selection and performance had increased the public’s confidence in the ABC’s handling of the WHF. With this in mind, Benji decided that, for the next contest, they must go for another entry with “an important – heavy, even – subject matter”, performed by people who could credibly perform a song about said matter. That would show to the people that they cared enough about the WHF to use it as a platform for lyrically-heavy songs. The video selection process would be set aside for this edition; the ABC would go out and invite whoever they wanted to invite to the WHF.

The ABC did not take long to find their next contestant – the first people Benji invited to perform at the WHF immediately accepted his offer. Hasan al-Jafar and Sania Sadiq had had a half-time gig for some years, performing in Adab’s major cities with the laboriously-titled Tashlultum Lugal’s Adab City Traditional Music Ensemble, singing classic Adabian folk and country tunes, with all proceeds from recordings and concerts going to charities. Old Tashlultum had passed away recently, and the ensemble did not see themselves returning onstage anytime soon as they continued their search for a new leader. Suddenly finding themselves with more spare time, Hasan and Sania – already long regarded as the ensemble’s standouts – took to the studio to record an entire album together, half the songs being covers of classic Adabian tunes and the other half being their own compositions, heavily influenced by Arabic and African music. The album was well-received and they embarked on a small tour around the country. Benji caught a performance in the city of Eridu, where he was visiting friends, and was mightily impressed. When the time came to search for a WHF contestant, Benji called them first. They accepted, with one condition: they would perform their new song decrying the warfare going on in Adab’s neighboring countries and its effects on children. This, of course, fit well with Benji’s desire for a song with a “heavy” subject matter, and he immediately agreed.

The Performance
A dark, ominous shade of red washed over the stage and cylinders at Orongumilá’s Gran Arena Fortunense Antonio Guzmán. Towering over the stage, the screen gradually zoomed in on Hasan al-Jafar and Sania Sadiq standing solemnly at the center, each wearing an earset mic hanging down from the ear. The backing track filtered in across the width and length of the arena, the ethereal synth making itself heard over the commanding sound of the bass and drums. Hasan and Sania turned their backs on each other and began walking in opposite directions, Hasan towards the northwest, Sania to the southeast, both of them followed by a spotlight, stopping at the edge of the center stage. The screen now shifted to show scenes of bright spots of light - rockets - rising ominously in the night sky over a city, to be met with rockets coming in from another direction. Those rockets collided in the air, producing a spectacular, if terrifying, burst of light covering the horizon. Then the audience was shown scenes of explosions destroying buildings across the city, as people poured onto the streets in panic.

Back on the stage, Hasan looked up towards the ceiling, mouth agape, fists clenched as if pleading. A thin, but nevertheless ominous, fog began descending on the stage as the screen showed smoke rising from where the destroyed buildings once stood.

Hasan:
Our fathers, our fathers on the streets, on the streets
Our mothers, our mothers have their hands over our heads
Shooting stars burn and explode above us, right above us
The houses fall, still the stars rise, the cycle continues

Sania was still facing the opposite direction from Hasan, a spotlight also on her. She began making semi circles around her part of the stage, putting her hands over her heart and her eyes squarely on the audience, her face that of desperation, occasionally making gestures such as throwing her hands up to demonstrate the severity of the situation she was describing in song. The screen showed variously people wandering aimlessly around destroyed streets in towns and cities across the world, gazing at what remained of their house as the occasional sound of gunfire could be heard.

Sania:
Fire and rubble
In the home we live in
Another future going up in flames
By the gun and the stone
Another house blown
The sirens ringing out
Our lives are in doubt

At this point, Sania stepped backwards, returning to the center of the stage. Hasan, who had turned to watch Sania singing her part, now himself began walking back to the center to join his partner, facing her back.

Sania:
Though they send the fathers out to fight the war
The children, too, suffer against an enemy invisible

The fog by now had enveloped the entire stage, although it was quite thin and still allowed the audience to clearly see the performers. Hasan and Sania were now both at the center of the stage. Sania still had her back on Hasan, but slowly, gradually she turned, until finally they were facing each other, both of them with a tired, pleading, desperate look on their faces. But they would not be singing to each other. As soon as Sania had faced Hasan, they both turned at the same direction to face the audience. The screen now changed to show scenes of children, their faces covered with dust, their clothes torn at places, some playing on the streets amid smoke and rubble, some sitting on the rubble.

Hasan and Sania:
And our battlefield
Our battlefield is here
In the destroyed houses and playgrounds
The joy deprived
And our battlefield
Our battlefield is here
In the torn-down schools and libraries
The ideas lost
Relationships frayed
Living in fear

While Sania stayed at the center of the stage, Hasan now stepped forward and started walking around the center stage, detouring to the bridges along the way, appearing as if to beg and plead to the audience in all directions to listen to what he had to say. The screen was now changing between images of soldiers marching off to battle everywhere from the streets of Panama to the jungles of the Congo, planes dropping bombs, and children sitting and watching as dead bodies – victims of war – were carried through the streets amid piles of rubble and smoke emanating from what remained of the buildings.

Hasan:
The elders do battle on the streets, on the fields
The young left behind to do battle with our own body and soul
When we see our fathers and friends come home in shrouds
Our home reduced to rubble and our food is gone
We are cast out onto the streets with our clothes torn
Our faces covered in dust and our hair too, not knowing what to do

Hasan was now standing on one of the bridges, holding on to the railing, as Sania remained on the center stage but began walking closer to where Hasan was. The fog – which was already thin to begin with – thinned even further, but now sparks of fire appeared around the stage, accompanied by thin columns of smoke, all strategically placed to convey a vision of destruction while not hindering the audience’s view of the performers. Both Hasan and Sania then turned to the screen, now showing bodies of children, covered in shrouds as their parents, relatives, and friends wept over them.

Hasan and Sania:
Our battlefield is here
In the destroyed houses and playgrounds
The joy deprived
And our battlefield
Our battlefield is here
In the torn-down schools and libraries
The ideas lost
Relationships frayed
Living in fear

Sania was now at the end of the bridge on which Hasan stood, and Hasan went down to meet her, stopping just two or three feet away. Sania began singing in his direction, and when the time came for them to sing together they turned in unison to face the audience. By now the fog had mostly cleared, but the fire and smoke continued to rise, fade, and rise around the stage. The screen now showed before and after photos of schools, libraries, museums, and places of worship that were destroyed by war.

Sania:
Though they send the fathers out to fight the war
The children, too, suffer against an enemy invisible

Hasan and Sania:
And we are lost and destroyed
And we are lost and destroyed
Lost our house, our school, our friends, our dream
We are completely hopeless and we live in fear

Hasan and Sania now marched back to the center of the stage as the song inched towards its end, singing together, sometimes facing each other, sometimes turning their backs on each other and gesticulating towards the audience, with Hasan letting out some wails from time to time as Sania sang on. Hasan and Sania then separated from each other and, as at the beginning of the performance, walked in opposite directions, both of them clenching their fists, putting their hands over their hearts, throwing their hands up, and performing other gestures along the way to communicate their anguish and plead to the audience to listen to their words. The screen focused back on children, standing before the remains of their house, watching the burial of their parents, recovering whatever remained of their possessions from the rubble.

Hasan and Sania:
Our battlefield is here
In the destroyed houses and playgrounds
The joy deprived
And our battlefield
Our battlefield is here
In the torn-down schools and libraries
The ideas lost

And our battlefield
Our battlefield is here
In the destroyed houses and playgrounds
The joy deprived
And our battlefield
Our battlefield is here
In the torn-down schools and libraries
The ideas lost

The fire and smoke gradually died down. Hasan and Sania remained at their respective parts of the stage, reducing their movements as the backing track began to fade. Yet their words were as clear as ever, and they made sure everyone in the audience would hear them.

Hasan and Sania:
And our battlefield
Our battlefield is here
In the destroyed houses and playgrounds
The joy deprived

Our battlefield is here

As the backing track finally dissipated into thin air, Hasan and Sania stopped singing. The screen was turned off, the cylinders following soon after, and the red of the stage gradually faded until it was almost black. The spotlight remained on Hasan and Sania, who had now returned to the center of the stage. “Thank you,” they said as the audience cheered and applauded. “Please give peace a chance.” Then they made their exit as darkness descended on the stage.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:20 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:21 pm

04
BEEPEE
Max Doubt - "On and On"
Language(s): English
Title Transcription: N/A
Title Translation: N/A
Tune: Max Weidner - Schau Ma Moi
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: BPE
Lyrics: Otto Tune and Max Doubt
Music: Otto Tune

MAX DOUBT

Max is a 22 year old singer from Beepee.

He enjoys working out, shirtless selfies and sunbathing at the beach.

Early Life

Born in a rundown shack on the outskirts of Isring Forest. Max is the son of Martha and Shane Landon. Martha, a fisherwoman, and Shane a textile vendor always knew their son was destined for stardom at an early age. Singing and dancing and writing songs, performing in school plays and entertaining relatives.

Max was an only child, but lived an ordinary childhood.

Education

In his early teens, Max earned spare change by performing on street corners and eventually made a name for himself. Playing local gigs, before joining the prestigious School of Performing Arts where he learned the art of performance.

In his late teens, Max became interested in fitness an suffered a weight room accident at the age of twenty when a barbell he was bench pressing become unbalanced. He has a small scar on his right shoulder from the accident.

Personal Life

In early 2021, Max started dating Nas Teerash, a local politician. The relationship made local news, as after a few weeks of going public Mr Teerash was photographed pashing violently with Homer Ecker at the hottest new bar in Isring Forest, "Itch". The incident lead to a twitter spat between Max and Homer. Shortly after, Nas and Max announced they were no longer dating.

Career

After finishing his studies, Max was signed to the Beepeean Schlager music label.

His first single, "On and On" was chosen to represent Beepee at World Hit Festival 59 to be held in the city of Orongumilá, in Achaean Republic.

Upon the announcement of the choice, the song was played in heavy rotation on Beepeean Radio.

The song itself is co-written with Otto Tune. Otto Tune, one of the most prolific writers of Beepeean hits also penned "Walk a Mile" which was performed by Ashi N at WHF 54 and "Sing Along With Me" performed by Britney C at WHF 53.

PERFORMANCE

Max has a sense of youthful exuberance which permeates through he's very being and is nothing if not contagious.

Max is dressed in a simple outfit if skinny black jeans and a cream tree.

The music begins and Max instantly begins bouncing along to the music.

Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da

Televisual viewers will clearly note that Max has more confidence that talent... but when has that ever stopped anyone before.

Everyday
I'm hoping you're OK
Although you're far away
And I cry-y-y-y...

As he sings "I cry-y-y-y" he traces the line of a fake tear down his face.

Every night
I'm hoping you're alright
Sometimes I wake in fright
I wonder why-y-y-y...

There's plenty of pointing at the the assembled auditorium audience. As he sings "why-y-y-y" the director cuts to a head shot and Max cocks his head to the side and points to his head, looking confused.

I dont know
Just why I let you go
And even though
I ache from head to toe

As the chorus begins, Max waves his hands upwards, trying to get the crowd excited in his performance and song by bouncing along with him.

Oh, I miss you near
Your voice in my ear
Tells me "hon,
My love for you goes on and on"

Oh, you'll never know
Just how low I go
When you're gone
My love for you goes on and on

As a result of the rectangular 360 degree stage of the Gran Arena Fortunense Antonio Guzmán having audience members on each side, Max does his best to run around to each side of the stage during the "Dum dum da da de da"'s encouraging each side to get involved.

The, predominantly, Achaean audience clearly love a good party and even though Beepeean Schlager may not be their thing, they seem to enjoy the attempt at crowd interaction.

Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
My love for you goes on and on

With the next stanzas, Max puts on his best sad, puppy dog eyes look in an attempt to secure some sympathy votes.

If you only knew
What I'm going through
My heart it broke in two
When you said bye-y-y-y

And now I try
To keep my eyes real dry
They just wanna cry
Tears in my eye-y-y-y

I dont know
Just why I let you go
And even though
I ache from head to toe

As the chorus ramps up once more, Max begins begins bounce around the stage again. (For those of you who are having trouble imagining how enthusiastic Max is, imagine if you gave Jedward a sugary sweet).

Oh, I miss you near
Your voice in my ear
Tells me "hon,
My love for you goes on and on"

Oh, you'll never know
Just how low I go
When you're gone
My love for you goes on and on

For the break, Max begins again running around the stage to interact with the audience.

Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
My love for you goes on and on

The director decides to do a brief cut to the green room, and sees Andi Robi Idris Novogrody, the Alezian entrant, looking a little bemused by Max's performance. But he smiles and waves the Alezian flag... he's nothing if not a consummate professional.

Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
My love for you goes on and on

Meanwhile... in order to avoid the audience being bored, Max decides to pull up his tee slightly to show his toned abs. This seems to send the auditorium audience into a tizzy with some now cheering. It's clear Max is Thicc but Thick.

Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
My love for you goes on and on

Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da

As the final chorus begins, Max is becoming puffed, so he slows it down, caressing his microphone and looking longing down the camera

Oooooooh, I miss you near
Your voice in my ear
Tells me "hon,
My love for you goes on and on"

After the brief reprieve, Max once again bounds around the stage for the dum dum's

Oh, you'll never know
Just how low I go
When you're gone
My love for you goes on and on

Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
Dum dum da da de da
My love for you goes on and on

As he sings his final words, Max thrusts his hand in the air in triumph. His chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath after his energetic performance. After a brief pause he thanks the audience, waving as he walks off stage.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:21 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:22 pm

05
NOT AUPHELIA
Mia Culpa - "Holy Water"
Language(s): English
Tune: Megan thee Stallion - Savage
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: NAU
Lyrics: Mia Culpa
Music: Leena Norton, Elizabeth Holmes

The Entry

Not Auphelian audiences first came to know Mia Culpa through her 2019 breakthrough hit "Sticky Summer Nights" and has been dominating the hip hop scene ever since, releasing her self-titled debut album in the summer of 2020 and capturing the hearts and minds of many with her unapologetic blackness, transness, and overt sexuality - helped by her very down-to-earth personality juxtaposing well in interviews with the larger-than-life persona of wealth and confidence she has created for herself with Mia Culpa. Named the Best New Artist at the 33rd Annual Orpheum Awards, Not Auphelia's most prestigious musical awards show, she has become the unofficial new hope for hip hop to break back into the realm of the mainstream after having suffered from an severe image problem in the music industry over the last decade, accused (somewhat validly) of becoming too derivative. Her sharp lyrics and willingness to stir up controversy have inspired several new artists in the past year to follow in her footsteps, already trailblazing as a relative newcomer. This coming summer season she will be debuting her sophomore album, Come and Get It in June and having lined up several performances at Pride festivals the world over as part of its roll out. This will be her first World Hit Festival performance and first major international televised performance.

Mia Culpa - Holy Water

From the darkness, a beat begins to pulsate throughout the stage, a catchy sonic hook sinking into thousands of ears. Spotlights come on and raise up from behind, illuminating a baker's dozen of women in nun's habits kneeling on the ground, hands clasped in prayer. As the beat goes on, the camera cuts to the nun in the front and centre, who looks up, staring right into the camera as she and the dancers begin to move, thrusting their hips while still on their knees in a very suggestive manner. She addresses the camera as it slowly pulls away.

I'm that bitch (yeah)
Been that bitch, still that bitch (ah)
Will forever be that bitch (forever be that bitch)
Yeah (ayy, ha)

As her first verse begins, she and the dancers move their upper bodies to the beat, rolling their backs and shoulders, their heads moving sensually side to side as they continue the slow rhythmic thrusting of their hips.

I'm the new St. Teresa, one they all now wanna piece of
Had to dump some messy bitches out my life so that it’s cleana’ (yeah)
I'm way too elusive, ain’t bout to catch me goin’ wild
All them lil' ass hoes gon’ end up with a child

As the song picks up and her verse gets more aggressive, she and the dancers flip from their knees onto their sides, lifting one leg in the air up and down to the beat, the habits covering their upper bodies and only providing a small skirt like flare in a bare attempt at modesty over their legs, the rest only just barely covered in fishnet stockings. The lights flare up, coating them in flashes of pink and purple that sparkle on their body glitter. The camera slides on on the line of women as they then flip onto all fours, parallel to the edge of the stage and in a line, shaking their bottoms, also set in tempo to the beat. On the last line the camera cuts to Mia Culpa as she delivers the last line with enviably seductive scorn.

Mad rich, still talking cash shit
Sipping ice water, I'm hydrating and relaxin’
I ain’t gonna slip on the finish line, it’s happenin’
Bitch, I’m on top, got it made, ‘cause I got ‘em, ah

As the chorus begins, the dancers and Mia Culpa now leap to their feet from where they were on all fours in an incredible display of strength, ripping off their habits in the next motion, revealing strapless tight black leather bodices underneath. They continue to shake their bodies, ample bosoms and bottoms shaking rhythmically under the lights as they flare up in the change of pace.

I got morals (yeah)
Patience, courage, virtue (yeah)
Justice, temp’rance, prudence (hey, hey, yeah)
Acting holy, what's happening? Bitch (whoa, whoa)
What's happening? Bitch (whoa, whoa)

At the second round of the chorus the women begin to turn, pivoting a few degrees with every shake until they are frontally facing the audience, many of whom are cheering quite loudly at the display. The women bend their knees lower and lower until they are still shaking their bottoms just barely above the floor, arms out in front of them for balance, hands making carefully choreographed motions.

I got morals (yeah)
Patience, courage, virtue (yeah)
Justice, temp’rance, prudence
Acting holy, what's happening? Bitch
What's happening? Bitch (ay, ah)

The second verse begins and Mia Culpa rises back to her feet, addressing the camera and audience, walking towards the edge of the stage and pointing into the audience, her attitude confident and eyes smouldering. The dozen dancers break into groups of two behind her, one dropping to their knees and the other remaining standing, facing each other parallel to the audience. The standing women gyrate their hips, legs spread wide as the kneeling women continue the shaking choreography from earlier in a very suggestive display. At the mention of "dangle", the standing women pull out strands of beads that had been hidden in their cleavage, whipping them around and then grasping both ends and rubbing them against their groins before throwing them away into the audience. The kneeling women then grasp the hips of the standing women and put their own legs together, using their grip slide between the wide legs of the standing women and then using their momentum to raise up to their feet as they and the standing women turn to face towards another once again, the standing women grabbing the hands of the now-upright women to steady them and pull them into a sort of T-pose, body to body, arms out.

Eat me up, yes please, you’re still always on your knees (ah)
Put your taint on holy ground, never been in a baptistery (baow)
I know you like the dangle, licking on my rosaries
If it’s really what you want, then you can go and suck on these
I'm the shit, ooh (ayy)
I need a mop to clean the floor, don’t wanna slip, ooh (just a lick, ooh)
I keep ‘em hot, I keep on top, I keep ‘em slick, ooh (I keep ‘em slick, baow)
We’re all the same, gotta go and scratch that itch, ayy (scratch that itch)
But not too quick, yeah (ah)

At the beginning of the chorus again, the women in their T-poses, pressed against one another, begin to thrust against each other to the beat, bringing out their knees perpendicular to their bodies as they slowly crouch towards the ground, still torso to torso as they grind. They keep their hands at approximately the same level as they lower, their arms now raised directly above their heads, hands still clasped together. By the time the second verse of the chorus is over they are once again standing, arms still raised above their heads.

I got morals (yeah)
Patience, courage, virtue (yeah)
Justice, temp’rance, prudence (hey, hey, yeah)
Acting holy, what's happening? Bitch (whoa, whoa)
What's happening? Bitch (whoa, whoa)

I got morals (yeah)
Patience, courage, virtue (yeah)
Justice, temp’rance, prudence
Acting holy, what's happening? Bitch what’s up?
What's happening? Bitch (ay, ah)

The last verse begins and the women, stomach to stomach, flip around and are now back to back as they quickly drop to their knees, pop back up to straighten their legs, and then fall forwards onto their hands, legs still straight and bottoms high up in the air, shaking with wild abandon. Mia Culpa turns her back to the audience and bends so that her face can be seen through her spread legs, still singing and gesturing. The dancers all roll forwards, each towards a new partner. The new pairs grasp each other by the waist, touching heads ear to ear and bent over so that their torsos make a triangle and their legs are straight, still shaking everything they've got. The dancers on the end who rolled forward, now partner less, cartwheel from the edges of the stage and towards Mia Culpa as she raises her head and torso back into a fully upright position, looking over her shoulder and singing for a beat or two before finally spinning around on the beat just as the dancers on the ends come out of their cartwheels and slide on their knees towards her, stopping on either side of her spread legs, grasping them while on their knees and leaning against her, heads on the side of her waist. On the line "too spicy" one dancer darts forward her head towards Mia Culpa's little delight before having her head shoved back by Mia Culpa. On the line "use your hand", the other dancer places her flat palm, fingers spread, against Mia Culpa's little hot pocket as all of the dancers in the background stop and face the audience, bodies rolling in time to the beat, Mia and the kneeling dancers at her legs thrusting as well.

Bitch, she lick on my snatch ooh
And you know that taste has got her still attached, ooh
She movin’ right, gave me all this drippin’ cat, ooh
I drop it low down, now these bitches gonna snack, ayy
Don't let men catch you ‘cause what ladies got they lack, ooh
It’s not a sin, it ain’t a dick that’s getting whacked, uh
These bitches talkin' 'bout eating up, well, where you at? Ooh
I sure ain’t bland, bitch, taste me if you can, ooh
If I’m too spicy, got you hot, use your hand, yeah (ah, yeah)

Mia shoves the dancers at her side away and steps forward, addressing the camera again, blowing a kiss to it as the song ends, finishing with a more freestyle but undeniably sensual shaking of her body as the dancers line up behind her.

I’m the Mother Superior, ain’t got time for nun ya’ nonsense, ah
Mwah
Ayy, ayy, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, mwah!

The audience is going wild at the display, the air seeming to almost vibrate (and the cameras themselves shaking a bit) with the sheer energy in the room. She and the dancers take their bows and give their thanks to the audience as they leave the stage, blowing kisses to the cameras as thunderous applause and cheering follow them out. Mia Culpa played to her strengths and to the right audience, a fabulous cocktail to create the performance of a lifetime.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:23 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:24 pm

06
Malta Comino Gozo
Marcelo Cutajar - "Enough is Enough"
Language(s): English
Tune: Robin Packalen - Hard To Love
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: MCG
Lyrics: Adam Borg
Music: Pallix and Adam Borg

Background

Malta Comino Gozo has never won the World Hit Festival but has come close, coming in second with their second attempt back in WHF51 in Sinnlichšukai Tödlichebujoku. Despite a hard start and a second last place, the country has now managed to finish in the top 10 in the last 4 editions coming in at 6th in the last contest held in Normandy and Picardy. With a winning streak in the Worldvision Song Contest, interest in the World Hit Festival had gained more popularity around the nation. MCG1 had been in serious talks with the HoD for MCG and it was time to put their foot on the gas. The nation was ready to win!

Marcelo Cutajar will represent Malta Comino Gozo with his song, "Enough is Enough" A song about a relationship that isn't working anymore.

Marcelo Cutajar is 27 years old and is from Laqba a small suburban town located a mile away from downtown Valletta. He began singing at 15 years old. Before he got involved in music, he spent most of his time playing sports. This was one of his favourite things to do when he was younger, and he still remains active up to this day. He was in several sports teams and when his mum was first trying to get him into music, he would always reply that he would rather just concentrate on his sports.

His song is about an abusive relationship where it's very one-sided or maybe even abusive. He says that while the story is personal to him, he believes that the ambiguity of the song means that more people can relate to it. "Enough is Enough was released shortly after Marcelo was announced and has charted at #2 in the MCG charts with over 400k streams.

Malta Comino Gozo and The Achaean Republic had always had a close friendship since they debuted in Rosario WV#76 and since then have exchanged points often as well as teaming up for a contest special. MCG1 was very excited to be sending a delegation to Orongumilá.

The MCG delegation arrived in the early hours of the morning on board an Air MCG flight from MCG international to the ultra-modern terminal. As they disembarked, they noticed the extraordinary light and the silhouette of imposing mountains in the distance. Marcelo and his delegation were tired but incredibly excited. After reaching their beautiful hotel Orongumilá. Marcelo found himself on the stunning white sands of Orongumilá beach, in the southeastern corner of the island, at the gorgeous St. Regis Resort. He pinched himself several times and dug his toes into the sand in the crystal-clear water. “Yes, I kid you not! You’re in the Achaean Republic!”, he reminded himself. The resort spread out along the beach, with numerous pools and beautiful restaurants, in a mix of colonial and contemporary styles. Marcelo sat on the beach, his eyes moving from sand to stone, from rock pools to breaking waves. In the gentle spring sunshine, he felt as if he were swimming in the briny aroma as if the new rays of the day brought a frisson of energy to his fingertips. It was a day for letting his eyes stay open, as he were an old fashioned camera, remaining still while the image developed. The gulls brought their high notes to the percussion of pebbles at the shoreline. It was a day for dreaming, for allowing time to move fast and slow. Marcelo and his team would spend a few days exploring this wonderful city and its attractions and sampling its exquisite cuisine and sampling many sugary dishes this city was famous for!

The city was known for its colourful mix of architecture, live music and hospitable people. Jewels and fashion stores lie like pearls on a string on the main street where friendly touts will try to steer you into their bars. Outside the pastel-coloured downtown is rustic and surprisingly run-down but beautiful. Inside the thick city, walls are a labyrinth of streets lined with houses painted candy colours: mint green, cornflower blue, coral orange. Hot-pink bougainvillaea tumbles from every balcony and around each corner is a new plaza, hiding a church, boutique shop, or a pavement cafe perfect for watching the world go by.

Performance

(Please use the video of the routine for reference)

The postcards end and the arena is full of cheers. The cheers settle down. The stage and cylinders are suddenly ablaze with bright warm golden light which shines brightly and powerfully encompassing the entire stage. Spotlights shoot around the arena chaotically (0:07-0:09) Marcelo is stood in the centre. He is wearing ablue and black suit. We have a male dancer (Zach, on the top, left side platform) and 1 female dancer, Stephanie, she is on our right, Marcelo's left, on the top right platform. They are both wearing black tops, Zach has a black tank top and Stephanie a full black top. Despite being 360 degrees we start with a frontal shot of the stage zooming in from a view of the whole stage towards Marcelo. The lights steady and the golden lights fade as a white spotlight fades in above Marcelo as he begins to sing. The camera cuts from the body shot to a frontal shot as Marcelo looks up after staring downwards into the facing camera. Despite the unhappy lyrics he has somewhat of a subtle but cheeky smirk on his face. The mic is in his left hand. As he sings "Always having to watch my sidelines" we cut to a view of the dancers on his left on the two smaller platforms they are poised steady legs stretched looking towards him. The camera cuts back to an upper-body shot of Marcelo. He turns to his side so his right side is on display to the camera. Marcelo mimics being trapped in some sort of box, he crouches down shielding his face with his right arm. He flinches his eyes fluttering cautiously. As he rounds up his verse he slowly stands upright again and turns to face the camera.

Battered and bruised
Always having to watch my sidelines
Stuck in these confines
Counting my options
Clearing my conscience down to my last prospect
What to expect?

The lights of the stage fade into a light blue whilst the surroundings remains dark. Spotlights flash to the beat as the 2 dancers walk down the bridges. We cut to a view of the dancers on the left side of the stage walk like a soldier to the beat one step at a time, the camera transitions to show the dancer on his right does the same. They will convene on the centre stage. Marcelo looks dramatically left to right at the two dancers who have now entered the shot and stand on either side of him. Their eyes cut past Marcelo to only stare at each other.

Tired of this second-hand fun
I'm heading for the absolute one
All your wrongdoings..
Wrongdoings

During the brief pause before the chorus hits the whole stages turns back before exploding into bright golden light. We have a stage shot from above the audience showing the whole stage. Marcelo jumps forward and stretches out a hand to the camera which is above his head. It looks like he's begging to the camera. The two dancers then accompany him dancing behind him. They throw fists at each other as Marcelo sings "when you're too wild" Marcelo swings his head as if he is the one being attacked, he raises his hand to face to try and stop the blows. He jumps forward as he sings the next Enough is enough. The stage flashes even brighter each time he sings this line and will do it each time he sings it. The camera stays on him as he makes his way to the outer right edge of the stage.

Enough is enough
I don't need your anger
It's hard to love you when you're too wild
Enough is enough
Raw like a diamond
In the rough
I've had my fill baby
Enough is enough...

The camera does a 360 degree around him as he makes his way back to the centre. The stage lights calm and fades to black. Marcelo is lit in a white spotlight. (The rest of the performance will rely heavily on this video) As Marcelo sings "A little aggressive " we can clearly hear his 2 backing singers. The dancers converge in front of Marcelo by rolling in, we can hear the crowd applaud loudly. Spotlights follow the 2 dancers for their dance routine symbolising the abusive relationship the song was about. Marcelo steps back now and is out of shot. The dancers move like water transformed by music, flowing in graceful arcs, limbs in constant motion, painting a picture sound alone can never achieve. They bring a wordless interpretation of the beats, in a way the audience can understand no matter what language they speak. In that way, their dance isn't simply movement, but the most honest form of communication we know. The camera floats around just above the stage floor capturing the whole dance act in motion head-on, it follows them along as the couple dances. It zooms in and out when needed and cuts to various close-ups shots.

All your wrongdoings
But we will be the last boys left standing in these ruins
A little aggressive (A little aggressive)
Finding the safe path outta here
Here yeah..

"From the punch to the erosion of self-esteem over time, the abusive relationships can either come fast or act as a dimmer switch. I got out of my situation. It almost killed me. You get out and make a new life, a better one, and become a role model." Marcelo explains to MCG1. The dancers continue their contemporary dance. The dancers are so passionate through their facial expressions and the way they move their bodies. The viewers and audience can sense the strong chemistry between them both. For the last line, we can see both the dancers and Marcelo in the shot.

Tired of this second-hand fun
I'm heading for the absolute one
All your horrible wrongdoings
Wrongdoings

During the brief pause before the chorus hits, we again see the whole stages turns back before exploding into a bright golden light. We have a stage shot from above the audience showing the whole stage, before the camera cuts to a shot of the dancers again (0:25 in the video) Zach stands up and spins towards Stephanie. She then begins to attack him, pounding relentlessly against his back, Zach remains emotionless and tries to walk away as she pounds his back before suddenly their wrists clash as she goes to strike him as Marcelo sings "when you're too wild" The camera pans leaving the dancers on the left of the camera shot. The stage flashes even brighter each time he sings "Enough". We have a quick shot of scared and onlooking Marcelo singing with his hand out following the couple, he cannot intervene as he watches the ghost of him and his ex. We cut back to a view of the couple holding hands and keeping each other balanced as Marcelo sings "In the rough" They fall to the floor before spinning their legs to stand back up. The lights of the stage flash a deep yellow as Stephanie approaches Zach a wild rage burning in her face, an open palm displayed ready to try and recapture his love (heart). She strikes Zach and he flays backwards before they perform the next part of their synchronized routine perfectly. Marcelo comes back into view in the background as Stephanie jumps onto Zach back. The pair turn slowly a pained look on Zach's facebefore she slips down to the floor to grab his leg.

Enough is enough
I don't need your anger
It's hard to love you when you're too wild
Enough is enough
Raw like a diamond
In the rough
I've had my fill baby
Enough is enough..
Enough..
Enough is enough..
Enough ..

The lights fade again and the stage is lit in a cold white spotlight as Marcelo approaches Zach. The camera pans around Zachs back as Marcelo sings towards him begging his ghost to tear himself away from this abuse. Marcelo approaches the edge of the stage. We can see the dancers behind him still performing. Stephanie is suspended above Zach before they sit up and she tries to grab his throat.

Enough is enough
Yeah
Enough is enough
Hmmm so my love
I think that enough is enough
Enough..

As the chorus hits Marcelo spins three times as he sings, the camera starting close before spiralling outwards showing the whole stage as a fire curtain rains down and fire sparklers shoot out around the stage. The stage is lit in a bright white and the cylinders are ablaze with bright warm golden light. The camera then pans around the 360-degree stage. The camera then pans in on the dancers as Zach with an upset expression mimics a blow to Stephanie's chest, she flinches each time, before they synchronize and spin and roll left. The onstage camera backs outwards towards Marcelo as he sings "Enough is enough, I don't need your anger." He sings eloquently towards the camera his right arm outstretched. The camera follows him as he walks left along the edge of the main stage, singing passionately towards the camera lens before he makes his way towards the middle. We cut to an onstage view of the dancers. Their routine is almost over as she pulls on Zach's tank top, Zach lashes out and she lets go before the pair miserably sit down facing outwards beside Marcelo who is now crouching centre stage looking forward. The lights around them fade leaving just the 3 of them lit. He finishes the song and rests his head up.

Enough is enough..
Enough..
Enough is enough..
Enough..
Enough is enough
I don't need your anger
It's hard to love you when you're too wild
Enough is enough
Raw like a diamond
In the rough
I've had my fill baby
Enough is enough...

The stage lights come back on and Marcelo and his dancers stand up and hug before Marcelo speaks into his mic. "Grazzi Orongumilá! Let's stop domestic abuse!" The crowd cheers ecstatically for the MCG entry. The camera then shows the crowds. There are several MCG fans who've made their way to The Achaean Rep waving their flags at the camera.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:24 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:25 pm

07
FARABY
Meskigalla Amir - "You and Me"
Language(s): English
Tune: They Might Be Giants - Tippecanoe and Tyler Too
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: FRB
Lyrics: Meskigalla Amir
Music: Meskigalla Amir

Meskigalla Amir

Background
Faraby’s previous entry at the World Hit Festival, “Dance with Me” by Ela Aydilek, had placed a stunning 22nd place out of 22 nations. While the FBC did not expect to reach the top of the rankings, placing last nevertheless stung more than a little bit and led to some soul-searching within the organization regarding the direction that it wanted to take for its future WHF entries. There were even rumors that the FBC would withdraw from the WHF completely and focus solely on WorldVision. FBC Director-General Sabiha Vali and Head of Delegation Kara Abbas were taken aback by Faraby’s underwhelming performance at WHF 58 but nevertheless were determined to press on. There would be no withdrawal; the show must go on and Faraby will continue participating in the WHF.

Vali and Abbas were keen to demonstrate that the FBC was taking the WHF seriously, but their dance-pop number had not performed very well and they agreed that for now a change of genre was needed. Vali, as usual, desired something catchy and marketable, but understood that Faraby’s entry this year would most likely not be the typical radio-friendly pop song. While the public was still very much interested in the WHF, Faraby’s low placing deterred several high-profile artists in the island from participating, and after being turned down several times Vali and Abbas settled on the rising folk rock artist Meskigalla Amir, who, seeing the potential for global publicity, agreed to represent Faraby on the WHF stage. Vali and Abbas emphasized to Amir that he had “full freedom” in deciding which song he wanted to perform and the form of the staging. “We are not pressing for high-budget staging this edition,” said Vali to the media. “We are still finding our footing, trying to figure out the ideal approach for the WHF in the future.”

The Performance
Meskigalla Amir stood alone at the center of the stage at the Gran Arena Fortunense Antonio Guzmán, carrying an acoustic guitar, the mic hanging down from his ear, dressed smartly in a plain black shirt and blue jeans as if he had come to the arena straight from a cafe or shopping mall. A black-and-white image of Meskigalla filled the screen behind him, with the words “FARABY – MESKIGALLA AMIR” towering above his head in all-caps Arial.

The sound of the backing track soon enveloped the arena, its drum beats and deep-voiced chants of “Ooooo” reaching into the ears of everyone present. Meskigalla began strumming, and soon his soft, yet commanding baritone voice could be heard across the venue. The stage was bathed entirely in blue, with a lone spotlight on the singer.

Who haven’t heard the grumbling of critics, critics, critics
All day long and night
Offering false analytics
But I believe in you and me
And we’ll prove the naysayers wrong, wrong
Prove them wrong all along
And we’ll prove the naysayers wrong

Meskigalla began making his way around the center stage, every step roughly matching the beat of the drums, taking in the appreciation of the Farabian fans who had made the journey all the way to Orongumilá. The black-and-white picture of Meskigalla on the screen gradually faded away, to be replaced by color videos of Meskigalla at home with his girlfriend and recording at the studio.

Let ‘em blabber like the fools they are, they are, they are
Like a simpleton
But you and I, we’ll go so far
And I believe in you and me
And we’ll prove the naysayers wrong, wrong
Prove them wrong all along
And we’ll prove the naysayers wrong

As the instrumental played on, Meskigalla found himself on one of the smaller stages, the one that put him closest to fans from his home state. As the Farabian fans excitedly waved the national flag, Meskigalla extended his hand towards the crowd, reaching out for them. “Orongumilá, you’re the best!” he bellowed to cheers from the audience. “And to all the fans from Faraby, you’re even better!”

Like dictators and murderers, ‘derers, ‘derers
One day they’ll get their due
But until then we’ll keep on living
And I believe in you and me
And we’ll prove the naysayers wrong, wrong
Prove them wrong all along
And we’ll prove the naysayers wrong

Meskigalla marched back to the center stage as the final stanza progressed, the spotlight still following him. He was now back at the very center of the stage, where he began his performance. The moment he said the final “And we’ll prove the naysayers wrong”, the spotlight dissipated, the screen was turned off, and the stage was plunged into almost-complete darkness, with only dim white lights emanating from the ceiling allowing the audience to make out the outline of the stage. The Farabians in the crowd rose to applaud their contestant, with the rest soon also clapping and cheering – out of politeness if not outright enthusiasm. “Thank you everyone, thank you very much, thank you Orongumilá!” said Meskigalla, bowing to and waving at the audience before making his way out of the stage.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:27 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:28 pm

08
Mercedini
IO - "Between Borders"
Language(s): English
Tune: Davina Michelle - Sweet Water
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: MRC
Lyrics: G. Kletinka, K. Marianno
Music: G. Kletinka

The lights go down on the audience as the song presentation fades out and the music begins on Mercedini's return to the World Hit Festival. The opening notes ring out as the stage screen shows a starry night, with the stage floor depicting flowing waves of a deep blue ocean. It's a very dark setup to open the song, which is only lit by a light from above which illuminates IO in the centre of the stage. The young performer sits on the stage floor in a flowing grey dress, but with the notable addition of a silver foil blanket, similar to those refugees wear. The visual is strikingly similar to those seen on boats drifting at sea, which is what it is supposed to portray.

As the opening lines approach, IO seems steady on the stage with the thousands in the arena watching on, and the millions watching at home. She has been in this position before as a junior, but now it's time for her to take tot he stage in the senior competition. She lifts the microphone up to her lips to open the Mercedinian's performance.

Play your silly games
Sit in your ivory tower
A million miles away
Their taste is twice as sour
Hiding from the pain
Where the fate is far too tough
Why can't you see?

IO slowly begin to get to her feet following the end of the first verse, with the audience static and quiet as they respectfully watch the performance. She stands tall in the middle of the stage with the water still flowing and the stars still faintly twinkling in the background. The camera slowly sweeps along the bottom of the stage, before returning back to IO as she sings into the camera, and to the audience at home. For the second half of the verse, she turns away from the audience and faces the screen behind her, as the light of a lighthouse glimmers on the horizon, lighting up the water around her.

It's not their fault
It's not their sin
We close our eyes to feel good within
A whole new world is there, but you omit
But life's game for you to lose
And you can end just like them too
If we all just lend a hand to help them build.

For the first chorus, a flash of light fills the stage floor and the screen, briefly lighting up the arena. The shot returns to it's original view, but with lights converging on IO in the middle of the stage, it's all eyes on the Mercedinian performer as the first chorus rapidly approaches. The song begins to build with camera sweeping in from afar to reach IO. She offers out her hand to the camera as it sweeps forward, before the camera retracts and flies back out into the audience. The lights, which were once converged, now spread apart as IO opens up her body to reach the high note, which prompt a loud cheer from the crowd which is picked up by the microphone.

The lights twinkle around the arena as the beat drops and the intensity that the song built up has now been released. IO opens her body and closes her eyes as she takes in the moment. Taking Mercedini back to the World Hit Festival, while simultaneously returning to the place where she started her career.

Does hope exist between borders?
Out in the cold hoping to feel a little warmer
But is life fair between borders?
We only love to turn away, to stop the horror!
(Oh oh oo-oh oh)

(Between borders)
(Living between borders)

Following the first chorus, the lights and the atmosphere dies down, giving the viewers a small rest in the song. IO lifts her hand in the air, which the camera on stage tracks as her fingers flutter and her hand floats down. As she sings the second verse, she delicately touches the side of her face with the back of her hand, signifying how she longs for a tender touch like the subject of her song.

She strains to hit the high notes so softly, but that doesn't stop her from delivering a professional performance at such a young age. The light behind her begins to get brighter as the horizon begins to reveal itself on the screen behind her.

Play your silly games
Sit in your ivory tower
We can scream their names
So your shouts are just a whisper
Time to make a change
Forget the things you feel, to block the pain

The camera returns to the stage as IO and the camera orbit the same centre point. The lights around the arena and on stage a match the same drum snare as in the song, make for a customary Mercedinian light show. You can see IO is getting into the song as she bobs along to the song with a determined look on her face to deliver. When she makes it to the centre of the stage, the camera zooms into her while physically moving away from her, making for quite a trippy transition. She offers her hand with the word 'hey', before retracting it as soon as the second build up comes in.

It's not their fault
It's not their sin
We close our eyes to feel good within
A whole new world is there, but you omit (Woah oh oh oh)
But life's game for you to lose
And you can end just like them too
If we all just lend a hand to help them build, hey!

An aerial shot kicks off the second build-up as it shows IO on the stage floor, with flowing water being portrayed on it. The foil blanket she it wearing is catching the light, and is almost glistening as the light is reflected into the camera. The wide shot of the arena shows a faint glimmer of light in a sea of darkness, with IO singing her heart out with the lights and the eyes on her. As the beat drop approaches, she sticks her free arm out wide and walks forward to the centre of the stage before stretching down to belt the second high note out.

With another beat drop, the lights spread out once again, and circle around the audience, making a sense of chaos with everything going on across and behind the stage. In the LED screen behind IO, it begins to rain in the sea and she sea begins to get choppy, with IO walking back to her centre spot.

Does hope exist between borders?
Out in the cold hoping to feel a little warmer
But is life fair between borders?
We only love to turn away, to stop the horror!
(Oh oh oo-oh oh)

(Between borders)
(Living between borders)

The second beat drop comes into the song, with steam jets flying from the stage, lighting is now flickering on the stage which is reflected by the strobe lights around the arena. Flags are flying in the audience as IO stands a lonely figure in the middle of it all. Ending the performance in the usual furore of a typical Mercedinian entry. There isn't much left in the performance, but the Mercedinian delegation of going all-in to make an impression on their return.

Yeah is life fair between borders?
Between borders
Yeah, oh, between borders

Io keels down in the centre of the stage, still with her foil blanket over her, the chaos begins to die down as the night begins to fade away into a clam morning. Some of the crowd are already beginning to cheer as the song begins to grind to a slow halt. Io gets to her feet as the sun begins to rise on calm waters to cap off the end of the song. IO is smiling and unpins her foil blanket as land is now visible in the background. The background signified a treacherous journey across a stormy sea, and that journey has now come to an end with the conclusion of the song.

IO simply moves the microphone away from her lips and gives a wry smile as the final chimes of the song ring out in the Achaean Republic. Whether it's a night that ends in success remains to be seen, but it's a big night for IO and TeleDini, as they leave everything on the stage.

It's not their fault
It's not their sin
We close our eyes to feel good within
We can all just lend a hand to help them build.

The crowd kicks into full gear as the performance officially comes to an end, a beaming smile appears on her face as she covers her mouth in shock of what she has just done. She waves and takes a bow to the crowd to finish her time in the spotlight. 'Grazije Achaea, thank you so much!', a transition is made to the postcard of the next nation, all Mercedini can do now is wait and see how the juries and the public reacts.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:28 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:29 pm

09
Nightom
Henry Nikkelsen - "Cloud 9"
Language(s): English
Tune: Years and Years - Starstruck
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: KNI
Lyrics: Dora Bloomqvist, Sam Tillbury
Music: George Hamilton

Henry for Nightom: Henry will represent Nightom at the upcoming WorldVision Song Contest in Elejamie, hoping to give Nightom its second win at the Contest...

Henry was wearing something similar to this - white everything

At the start of the song, Henry was standing on top of a large platform with instruments on either side of him...

You think you’re under the radar but my eyes are on you,
I love the way you carry yourself down to the way you move.
Whisper sweet words, the kind that I like oh yeah
Say that you want me over tonight...
A boy can dream, am I right?
I'd like a chance, I can show you a new world
Take you to new heights...

The lights flashed between orange and blue with the young man enjoying himself delightfully on the stage.

I’m on cloud nine, high on your smile,
I’ll admit... I’m smitten with you, yeah
I’m on cloud nine, lost in your eyes,
Come find me, bring me to you.

As he moved onto the second verse of the song, four men joined him on the stage all wearing white. They came onto the stage without too much enthusiasm - they didn't want to show off.

I know what I'm capable of, no I won't disappoint you oh
Your deepest, darkest fantasies will come to life baby
What you want, I'm there for it
Whisper sweet words, the kind that I like oh yeah
Say that you want me over tonight...
A boy can dream, am I right?
I'd like a chance, I can show you a new world
Take you to new heights...

As he sang this section, there was a lot of low flying fog which appeared on the screen.

I’m on cloud nine, high on your smile,
I’ll admit... I’m smitten with you, yeah
I’m on cloud nine, lost in your eyes,
Come find me, bring me to you.

There was then some cool effects now with the greenscreen where we could see Henry travelling through space, with him making some movements...

On cloud nine, I'm high on your smile
Oh cloud nine, I'm lost in your eyes
On cloud nine, I'm high on your smile
Oh cloud nine, I'm lost in your eyes, eyes, eyes oh
Am I trippin'? Pinch me,
Bring me back to Earth, bring me to you baby yeah

Cloud nine, high on your smile oh!
Cloud nine, I'm lost in your eyes woo!
I'm on cloud nine, h-high on your smile
I'm on cloud nine, h-high on your smile
I'm on cloud nine, h-high on cloud nine[/i]

There was then a BANG of pyrotechnics everywhere because the Nightomese fandom asked for some. There wasn't intially any but they thought the performance would look better with them.

I’m on cloud nine, high on your smile,
I’ll admit... I’m smitten with you, yeah
I’m on cloud nine, lost in your eyes,
Come find me, bring me to you.

On cloud nine, I'm high on your smile
Oh cloud nine, I'm lost in your eyes
On cloud nine, I'm high on your smile
Oh cloud nine, I'm lost in your eyes, eyes, eyes oh
Am I trippin'? Pinch me,
Bring me back to Earth, bring me to you baby yeah

There was another final bang. "Thank you all so so much - vote NIGHTOM" he shouted into the audience.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:30 pm

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:31 pm

10
PEMECUTAN
IKTAMILA KAMNAJADA & GADING MAHESA - "TANPAMU"
Language(s): Bahasa (Indonesian)
Title Transcription: N/A
Title Translation: Without You
Tune: Faouzia & John Legend - Minefields
Entry Specifics
Trigramme: PCU
Lyrics: Gading Mahesa
Music: Gading Mahesa, Chandra Karmila

Pemecutan once again reach 5th place in the 58th World Hit Festival which was held in Le Havre, Normandy & Picardy. The entrants which sung by Arini received a total of 25 points, the second highest points received by the country since their exemption in 53rd edition. The points and result is tied with Ayu Pratiwi entrants in the special edition event. This result makes Pemecutan still retain their top 10 run in the competition with 3 times 5th placement out of 6 participations.

For the next edition, the 59th World Hit Festival, PRIA send a unique entrant after the polling show an interest for a sensational duets. The song was just release in the country and suddenly become sensation and a favorite song. Although there are several collaboration between Pemecutan and Soracana singers before the merger, but this song is surely the first after the merger of both countries. The song is seen as a new breeze to the situation in the country. With several editions have been held after the merger and none Soracanian artist ever selected, this song have represent them. The song not just give recognition to Soracanian singers in Pemecutan but also to show that the relationship between both parties have been cool down. The sudden merge have give a huge impact in both part of the country and hopefully the song can show them that both part can still work together to produce something great.

Iktamila Kamnajada and Gading Mahesa

Iktamila Kamnajada, a 25 years old singer born in Halangkaya, Soracana Islands. She begin her music career at an early age as a child singer and released 2 albums. Growing up, she took a break from music industry and focused on her study. She graduated from Nilayam University Economic and Business Department. After graduation, she turn to her music again. Released her first single as an adult 2 years ago to test the water. Luckily the market love her music genre which makes her being recognized again easily. In late 2019, she released her first adult album to a wide success. She is also spread her wing to Pemecutan and held a mini concert in both Soracana and Pemecutan.

Gading Mahesa is a returnee in the multiverse song competition. After previously participated in 86th World Vision Song Contest, where he was finished 10th, now Gading enter the World Hit Festival. This making him the first and only Pemecutanian singers to enter in both singing competitions. Although he had retires from music industry after he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, he come back to the industry that have lifted his name after he recovered. His image have not been fade even with the retirement. His first album after his comeback have give the prove that his music and talent are still being loved by Pemecutanian music fans and critics.

After the annexation of Soracana, many artists from both parts (singers, songwriters, painters, and others) have come together to create a collaborative work in order to ease tension between them and to make Soracanian feel welcomed. This song in one of them. Gading Mahesa who is known for his charity work after his cancer diagnosed use this idea to promote togetherness between both part of the country. He chose Iktamila to be his singing partners knowing that she is one of the aspiring and well known artist in Soracana. For the song composition, Gading seek help from Chandra Karmila. Karmila is one of the best female composer in Pemecutan and a good friend of Gading. They have been work together several times when producing songs for Gading and other artists which the song written by Gading. Iktamila have to flew to Ubung for their recording. The song was being released digitally in early May and it went viral. It topped the music chart in the country until now.

For the performance, Iktamila is wearing an elegant off-shoulder white satin long dress which kind of like a wedding dress. Her hair is left flowing with a simple necklace and earring to complete her outfit. While Gading is wearing a navy blue blazer and trousers with simple white shirt underneath. His hair is keep slick complete with a brown shoes. As the host announce their names, the stage goes dark. A glimpse of light comes from the screen above which shows the postcard of Pemecutan with detail of the performer. As the screen finished showing the postcard, a light focused on the center of the stage. A grand piano is there with someone playing the intro to the song. It is not Iktamila nor Gading, But she is Chandra Karmila. She was ask by both singers to help their tonight's performance. Chandra is wearing a black gown. The camera showing her playing the piano elegantly. When suddenly the light on the front right of the island stage enlighten. There we can see Iktamila is standing with a mic on her hand humming to the intro of the song. She then face the audience as she sing the first verse of the song. The camera give a full 360 degrees view of her in her lovely white dress. The light on her goes off and the light on the front left island stage is light up. There is Gading Mahesa looking stunning with his outfits. He is singing his part of the verse. Once again the camera took a 360 degrees view of him.

Iktamila Kamnajada
Gading Mahesa
Both

Semilir angin malam yang memeluk ku manja
Mengingatkan ku kepada dirinya
Sampaikanlah rindu ku kepada nya disana
Hatiku tersimpan hanya untuk nya

The light on Iktamila is on again as she sing the bridge. Both lights on Iktamila and Gading is keep on as they continue to sing the bridge. Both of them then walking through the stage bridge to the center stage as they sing the chorus. The lights are following their movement until they are reaching the center stage. While the 5 screens divide the view between the piano in the center, Iktamila on the right and Gading on the left. They reach the center stage as the chorus is ended.

Hu...perasaan ini
Tak kan pernah mati
Hingga akhir masa ku nanti

Uh...disini aku berdiri
Hu...bertahan tanpa hadirmu
Uh...dan kini aku sendiri
Hu...menyambung hampa hidup ku
Tanpamu…..

All 3 lights are focused on the center stage while the other part of the stage is kept dark. As Iktamila's start to sing the second verse, both of them walking encircling the piano in the center in opposite ways so they won't meet up. The camera took this movement very detailed.

Fajar datang menyapa membawa kehangatan
Kepada hatiku yang t'lah membeku
Kenangan yang tersimpan di relung yang terdalam
Tak pernah kan terhapus oleh waktu

They are stopping their movement as they sing the bridge part. They are like in a singing battle as they sing with a grand piano between them. The camera took a view from the front so the audience can see their exact position. Now, Gading is standing on the right, the piano still at the center and Iktamila is on the left. They started to walk away from the piano in the island stage as they sing the chorus. Just like before, the lights are following their movement until they reach the island stage as the chorus ended.

Hu...perasaan ini
Tak kan pernah mati
Hingga akhir masa ku nanti

Uh...disini aku berdiri
Hu...bertahan tanpa hadirmu
Uh...dan kini aku sendiri
Hu...menyambung hampa hidup ku
Tanpamu…..

They repeat the last part of the chorus in more energize power making the audience amaze with their voices. Suddenly all the lights are off except the one at Iktamila's. The camera also focused on her as she repeat 2 sentences from the first verse of the song. The lights is off as she finished the sentences.

Tanpamu....

Semilir angin malam yang memeluk ku manja
Mengingatkan ku kepada dirinya

The audience are clapping with a soaring voice that filling the venue with joy and mesmerize. They are moved by the performance. The lights on the stage is being lighten up. There we can see the 3 of them, Iktamila, Chandra Karmila and Gading. They are standing there hand in hand. Bowing to the audience that give them a welcoming feedback.

by **Achaean Republic** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:32 pm

AS1/AFT|WHF59|Orongumilá, Achaean Rep.|IC Thread

AS1/AFT|WHF59|Orongumilá, Achaean Rep.|IC Thread

Directory

¡Bienvenidos a Orongumilá!

Let the 59th World Hit Festival begin!

Britonisea: Postcard

01|Britonisea #BRI

NZSW St. Martin: Postcard

02|NZSW St. Martin

Adab: Postcard

03|Adab

Beepee: Postcard

04|Beepee

Not Auphelia: Postcard

05|Not Auphelia

Malta Comino Gozo: Postcard

06|Malta Comino Gozo

Faraby: Postcard

07|Faraby

Mercedini: Postcard

08|Mercedini

Nightom: Postcards

09|Nightom

Pemecutan: Postcard

10|Pemecutan

Kalosia: Postcard

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