Worldvision Song Contest 96|Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo|IC

by **Malta Comino Gozo** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:11 pm

Welcome back to Valletta the cultural beating heart of Malta Comino Gozo the tiny but powerful capital of this tiny nation. Sit back and wander through the Valletta old town with hidden gems on every street. Boasting historical buildings, sun washed gardens to its famous city walls, stunning cathedrals, baroque architecture and winding back alleys, and Valletta Downtown, the new modern purpose built financial heart of this great city, a life of luxury, from its marina's sandy beaches, to the MCG Mall and Casino, Valletta Clock tower, and the Valletta Yacht Club and the breathtaking seafront district on Victoria Street.
Valletta captures every aspect of Malta Comino Gozoan life, from its quaint family run shops to its highrise glass skyscrapers an infusion of old and new coming together. It has a sense of tranquillity but also a sense of heart and soul with its bustling nightlife culture and cuisine.

The MCGBC countdown starts, with an instrumental, of the last Malta Comino Gozoan entry, Pessimistic Reflections and their song Desperate Wilderness. We count down from 12-0 before every countries name that is taking part flashes briefly on our screens to dramatic countdown music before each of their respective pins appears on the screen.
Countdown
Opening Video

A view of the globe from space fills the screen amongst a sea of stars as it grows bigger until we are central with the planet. The Earth look so colourful and bright. A hazy outline of Malta Comino Gozo appears centre screen. The earth spins smoothly until we are hovering directly over our host city, Valletta, which is pinpointed on the Earth. We begin our descent downwards through the layers of the atmosphere as it deepens through an ombre of blues, more detail of mountains and the seas appearing as we approach our host nation. "FLASH" A view of our host city at sunrise. The orange-gold stretches far and wide, the colour of fire hearths and tangerines fill the sky. The coralline limestone buildings glow in the suns warmth as the views pans along. The city is asleep but will eventually burst into life. "DAYTIME" A different view but of the same skyline as the sun has now risen over the beautiful sun kissed coastal city. Two lonely boats sail into the bay. "BREEZE" Two Malta Comino Gozo It's our flag. To the Malta Comino Gozoan's it will always mean home. It is a rectangle of cotton and dye that we are proud to stand behind, the old pattern that means we are strong and true. In the gusting wind, it moves like it should, like the classic shots from the movies - rippling, almost in slow motion. It must be new though, the colours aren't sun-bleached, they're bright and the fabric isn't frayed around the edges.

"NATURE" The view now of the wild untamed part of the Grand Harbour the hills in the distance, the Grand Harbour, the biggest natural harbour in the archipelago. It's a natural barrier from the rest of the sea makes it a perfect place for the countries shipping ports The Sciberras (Xiberras) peninsula is densely forested and provides a home to many of the countries wildlife. The turquoise sea washes up against the coral and sandy beach."BUSY" The camera hurtles above the streets of Valletta's Old Town its labyrinth of streets snake out below, they are old, cluttered and hectic and yet, charming. The city walls, old rustic houses and Churches in our field of vision. "ROYALTY" The Royal Palace, the seat of monarchies for centuries stands proud against a sunny sky as people go about their business."FED EX" We cut to a view of a pumped audience, jumping, cheering, lights flashing from a previous MCG contest. White spotlights glide gracefully above the heads of the audience.

The spotlight swipes the screen and changes our view! "WELCOME" A quaint little welcome sign hangs from an old Malta Comino Gozo shop, welcoming all delegations to the country. "AFFLUENT" The camera changes to a timelapse. The bright sun illuminated all the coastal buildings of Valletta's marina and seafront. Yachts appear to shiver in the harbour dancing in the sea. Traffic rushes by the modern glass windows of offices."URBAN SPRAWL" Buildings spread as far as the eye can see, satellite dishes, solar panels and antennae dot every roof of this crowded island. "STILL" The Citadel in Cittadella Gozo, stands proudly above the surrounding countryside. The exposed hard layer of coralline limestone karst is almost devoid of soil, its thin layer of organic cover washed into the sea ages ago once the trees which originally bound it to the land were cut. This landscape is far from dead, however, supporting rich and aromatic Mediterranean garigue vegetation such as thyme, heather, asphodel and sea squill."CITY" A brief timelapse again this time from the sea, gazing out towards the beautiful skyline of Valletta's seafront. Fluffy clouds dot the warm sky. "VALLETTA" The music fades, Valletta comes back into view. The contest has started...

The video smoothly transitions into another video that opens with some lovely chirping from songbirds, of the spectacular sights of Malta Comino Gozo, from its beautiful coastal cliffs, sandy beaches, and iridescent seas to its historical churches and towns and villages. The music starts to change into something more upbeat, something fitting for a nightclub, as a group of 3 lads raise their pints glasses upwards in cheers before we cut to a cute young lady, making a heart shape with her hands. The cheers of the arena are unmuted and we can audible hear the delighted crowd screaming and applauding as the drums kick in and the music blares out into the FED-EX Arena.
We cut to the crowds with an above audience shot of the entire stage. We start with a cool rap song that smoothly fades into a summer pop song its beat blaring before the rhythm changes to a dance track the crowd cheering again as pyro fountains encompass the sides of the stage and smoke is shot out into the crowd from the ceiling creating a fantastic nightclub atmosphere. The stream fades back into a video of the Malta Comino Gozoan countryside as silhouetted woman pears out from the cliffs across the crystal clear bay. There is a brief shot of a cave opening and the Triton Fountain outside Valletta Old Town, a beautiful quaint church and a view of some of the neolithic ruins that scatter the islands a reminder of the islands long past. There is a shot of a small coastal inlet before we cut back to inside the arena, the tranquil music gains a beat as fog blasts out into the front of the audience again from above. The camera captures all aspects of the crowd jumping and smiling waving their scarves and flags. We end with a massive indoor firework that erupts with golden confetti out from the ceiling above the stage with a bang!

Tune

Phoebe and Musta would be singing the Parade of Nations with their song called Fly Me To The Moon. It is a catchy upbeat song and very fitting for the Parade of Nations! Phoebe comes from Mosatra. She is already an accomplished singer/songwriter, having put her best foot forward time and time again, taking part in several local and international music competitions. Musta is a local singer/rapper from Comino. The stage and sharp sunbeam LED screens bursts into colours and spotlights race around the arena as Musta enters the stage followed by Phoebe to huge cheers as they sing the first part of their song for the Parade. The lights become more intense and flash as the beats build. The two singers sing with chemistry and happiness. Every country is called out in their Maltese name. The singers shuffle dance left and right and are later joined by 10 dancers and they break into choreography for every "A little, a little to the right,". The LED's glow a fantastic orange and we have various camera angles of the stage, from above, the side, and boom camera shots swinging in over the crowds as well as various closes ups of everyone stage. They disperse the main stage for each part of the country parade before rejoining again.

A little, a little, a little to the left
And a little, a little, a little to the right, yeah
Ey, ey
Oeh-ey
Aye!!

I feel you stay, look at me
My world stops now all because of you (Uh-huh)
The contagious vibe, you take all my time
That's all I got for you (Ey)
Jitters in my belly, step back
I think about you way too much! (Uh-huh)
Always on my mind, I'll never lose you
Yes, the world now stands still because of you!

Ooh, you keep me in a trance
My feeling and mind
Completely out of balance ( Yeah.. )
Ooh, you constantly doubt
Between feeling and mind
Completely out of balance ( Ooh )

Oeh-ey
A little a little
Oeh-ey
A little A little
Oeh-ey
A little A little
Oeh-ey

And a little, a little, a little to the left ( Swipe )
And a little, a little, a little to the right ( Swipe )
Keep moving, keep moving ( Aye )
And a little, little, little to the left ( Swipe )
And a little, bit, bit to the right ( Swipe )
Oh... Fly me to the moon and back!

Oeh-aye
( Swipe )
Oeh-aye
( Swipe )
Oeh-aye-aye
To the left ( Swipe )
Oeh-aye

As the countries make their way out the screens light up brightly in each countries colours. The lights in the stadium also turn into their respected colours. Each nation walks out to applause and cheers.

And a little, a little, a little to the left (Swipe)
And a little, a little, a little to the right (Swipe)
Keep moving, keep moving (Aye)
And a little, little, little to the left (Swipe)
And a little, a little, a little to the right (Swipe)
What you do to me throws me completely off balance!

Oeh-aye
( Swipe )
Oeh-aye
( Swipe )
Oeh-aye-aye

And a little, a little, a little to the left (Swipe)
And a little, a little, a little to the right (Swipe)
Keep moving, keep moving (Aye)
And a little, little, little to the left (Swipe)
And a little, a little, a little to the right (Swipe)
What you do to me throws me completely off balance!

Oeh-aye
( Swipe )
Oeh-aye
( Swipe )
Oeh-aye-aye

You have me in your power, did not expect it
When will you let me again free? ( Uh-huh )
Hold me down, I'm waiting for a chance
All I want is you ( Ey )
Then I'll walk right up to you
Soon you'll be mine! ( Uh-huh )
I won't get there from, waiting for the day
When the world turns again

Ooh, you keep me in a trance
My feeling and mind
Completely out of balance ( Yeah.. )
Ooh, you constantly doubt
Between feeling and mind
Completely out of balance ( Ooh )

Oeh-aye
You come closer, closer
Oeh-aye
You come closer, closer
Oeh-aye
You come closer, closer
Oeh-aye-aye

And a little, a little, a little to the left ( Swipe )
And a little, a little, a little to the right ( Swipe )
Keep moving, keep moving ( Aye )
And a little, little, little to the left ( Swipe )
And a little, bit, bit to the right ( Swipe )
Fly me to the moon and back!
And a bit, bit, bit to the left ( Swipe )
And a bit, bit, bit to the right ( Swipe )
Keep moving, keep moving ( Aye )
And a little, a little, a little to the left ( Swipe )
And a little, a little, a little to the right ( Swipe )
What you do to me throws me completely off balance

Oeh-aye
To the left ( Swipe )
Oeh-aye
To the right ( Swipe )
Oeh-aye-aye
To the left ( Swipe )
Oeh-aye
Little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little
Oeh-aye
Oh ( Swipe )
Oeh-aye
Oh-yeah ( Swipe )
What you do to me throws me completely off balance

The captivated crowd let out a massive cheer for the singers as the parade of nations came to an end, and the spotlights repositioned themselves towards the centre of the brightly lit impressive stage. A voiceover boomed out from the speakers.

VOICEOVER "Ladies and Gentlemen your hosts for this evening!!
Live from Valletta Malta Comino Gozo!"
A quick pyro or 5, erupt from the edges of the stage as our hosts walk from the back of the impressive stage dressed elegantly in a smart navy suit and MCG red blouson dress. They smile and walk hand in hand waving to the 17,800 strong audience! The camera cuts away from them briefly as we look at the ecstatic cheering crowd waving hundreds of flags from every nation represented today and more!

Tim: "Il-lejla t-tajba Worldvision! Il-lejla t-tajba! Welcome to the 96th WORLDVISION!! My name is Tim Gabe! "
Brooke: "And my name is Brooke Galea!" (she gives a huge huge cartoon wink to cheers from the audience.)

Brooke: "Once again the Worldvision has travelled to Valletta, the capital city of the beautiful islands of Malta Comino Gozo!"
Tim: "Yes indeed it has! We are honoured to be able to host this prestigious contest for the THIRD time! (The crowd roars excitedly.) Again we are in the largest arena in the country, the FED-EX ARENA!! Tonight we will see 34 countries competing to be crowned the 96th winner of the Worldvision Song Contest."
Brooke: "Mhm! What a great crowd! Thank you, everyone!"
Tim: "And now to talk about the voting... actually, let's let this video explain instead haha!"

Voting instructions
The screen cuts away to a video from past Worldvision's from the very earliest back in WV#1 to the latest as past hosts read out the voting instructions for the viewers at home.

POSTCARD VIDEO

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PLAYLIST

Brooke: "You have the power to decide who will be this years Worldvision winner with 50% of the vote coming from your national jury and the other 50%, the better 50 coming from you, the amazing Worldvision audience. Who will be our next winner after Ertzei Kishim's fantastic win?
Tim: "This time the contest does not have a slogan, instead, we want to focus on the "pin icon". The pin icon in traditional fashion pins all the countries competing here coming together in one place, pinpointed here in Malta Comino Gozo!"

SBC Worldvision 96 Commentary
Bengt Dolá | English Song Commentary
PNB Commentary
TRT Commentary
Illdonyan Commentary
ETV Commentary

Brooke and Tim: "Right then so, with the rules out the way.. FED EX ARENA ARE YOU READY?!"
Brooke and Tim: "Guys let's give the multiverse an excellent show!!!
LET THE 96th WORLDVISION SONG CONTEST BEGIN!"

by **Carrelie** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:15 pm

1. Carrelie
Marien Lochnette - "Let It Be"
Tune: YELLE - Vue d'en face

Prelude

2022 has shaping up to be a great year for Carrelie so far. With a new and popular Captain-Regent and revolutions in manufacturing and culture combined with the continuation of the WMCA alliance and an exit from the COVID-19 pandemic with a massive vaccination effort, the people of Carrelie are happier than ever and it is certain that things are really looking up. CarrelieOne, the national broadcaster, has seen some serious reform, with fewer channels and more funding for Worldvision and the World Hit Festival coverage under the Progressive Democrat government. What a time to be alive!

This edition also marks ten editions since the first Carrelian entry in 86, the first of hopefully many milestones reached. For this extravaganza, CarrelieOne and Radio Dourie, with the co-operation of NTV, brought together many spectacular acts from each nation, though only one could win. In a twist of fate, as is per usual with Melodifestival, the Isles came out on top when initially poised to do badly. But the woman behind the music is another story entirely.

An Isles native, from Roseau to be exact, Marien is no stranger to music. Having served as the debut entrant for Carrelie in 86 and the co-host of the contest in 91, she's also no stranger to Worldvision. But this time, things are just a tad bit different.

L'Amour est Bleu

M: "Sylvie, I can't go on."
S: "Why, what happened?"
M: "It's Giraud, I think he's been..."
S: "No... he wouldn't..."
M: "He did, I just can't believe he'd do this to me! After all I've done to him!"
S: "You've done so much! What are you gonna-"
M: "I think that's him."
G: "Marien? What are you doing?"
M: "Oh! Giraud! I'm just... talking with Sylvia!"
G: "Why are you going through my stuff? I've told you not to go through my stuff, and yet here you are, you piece of-"
M: "We need to talk, Giraud. Sorry Sylvie, talk later!"
*beep*

Marien's been through a lot, this last year or so. After being proposed to in March, she could not have been happier in live, until she realised that her husband-to-be was spending a long time at work.

A concerningly long time.

So, on one autumnal day, she decided to have a look through her fiancé's things. Was it a good thing to do? No, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Rummaging through draws, she found a birthday card, not displayed on the windowsill with the rest. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she decided to have a gander, she was sure these feelings were all truly unsubstantiated.

M: "What is THIS, Giraud?"
G: "I TOLD you not to go through my things!"
M: "What is it? Answer me! Who's Léanne and why have they left such words in a card?"
G: "Marien, let me explain!"
M: "Explain what? That you're an unfaithful scumbag? That you've gone behind my back all this time with another woman? How could you do this to me, your fiancée?"

It wasn't just the birthday card, though. Piled up in the draws were years of cheating and deceit. And not just with Léanne, but also with a Karine, an Annette, and even Marien's own sister, Florence. And presented with the evidence, Giraud caved. He confessed, hoping to save his own skin.

G: "Fine, I've been cheating on you! What can I do to make it up to you?"
M: "I've heard enough. Get out of my house, petite merde. And don't even think of trying to call me."
G: "You're just gonna let everything we had go? All of it?"
M: "We had nothing. Get out."

And it backfired, and not just for the guilty party, but also for Marien. For weeks, she could not stop regretting her decisions, and each new relic of their relationship made her cry. So, as one would do, she called up her friend Sylvia.

M: "Sylvie, I need your help."
S: "What is it?"
M: "You know Giraud? I wanna write a song about him."
S: "What? Marien, it's 2am."
M: "I want you... to help me... write a song about Giraud."
S: "Okay, let's see what we can do."

And thus, pen was set to paper.

Blood and Water

Blood is thicker than water, as they say. But something lay between Marien and Sylvia, something that was even thicker than the blood of the covenant. Sylvia ended up flying to Roseau to support her best friend in writing, and there she enlisted the help of Marien's mother, Élise, and her sister, Florence. Together, they came up with something truly great. Though something was bubbling under the surface. Sylvia had always known she was bisexual, but Marien, on the other hand...

hey my guy i need your help >
< what is it girl
so idk what's going on but i think i have feelings for sylvie >
< omg sylvia? arent you both celebs like ppl will know
it's just i've never felt this way for a woman before, is it normal >
< yesss you are valid be who you are!!!
but like how will people feel? >
< everyones gay nowadays dont sweat it lmao
ok, thanks ions >
< alright have fun with ur girlfriend!!
ok not yet lol >

One December evening, Sylvia walked into Marien's house to find her not there. Half an hour before, she was sent to gather snacks for the songwriting group, but now came back to an empty house. Spying and shouting around, she found a small pink slip on a small table, asking her to come to a spot on a hill in a nearby park. Strange, she thought.

15 minutes later, she arrived at the spot. There were few people on the hill on this particularly beautiful evening, and so it was easy to spot Marien. She was alone on a blanket on the hill, near the very top, sitting down. Sylvia waved to her, and Marien beckoned her to come over.

S: "Hey, Marie! What's with this whole fancy spot?"
M: "Hi, Sylvie! I, uhh.. need to tell you something."
S: "Oh? What is it?"
M: "I, uhm... may or may not... have feelings... for you..."

And so the two began dating whilst working on the song. But this was only the beginning.

Dezember in den Januar

The writing and composition were finally finished, and now all that was left to do was decide what the dream team Marien & Sylvia had comprised was actually going to do with it. Florence suggested just releasing it as a single, Sylvia suggested putting it on an upcoming EP, but Élise had a brighter idea. Why not submit the song for participation in Melodifestival? After all, they were accepting entries for the Isles at the time, it only seemed natural to the ageing woman. It must have been a great idea, because one bitter January day, Florence received a phone call.

P: "Hello, is this Mademoiselle Marien Lochnette? This is Péronelle d'Éle, from CarrelieOne."
F: "One sec, Marien!"
M: "Mhm, what is it?"
F: "Someone's on the phone for you. They're from CarrelieOne."
M: "Mhm? Hello? This is Marien speaking!"
P: "Morning Marien, this is Péronelle d'Éle from CarrelieOne. We're delighted to reveal that you've been chosen to represent the Isles in Melodifestival 96!"

Marien was overcome with emotion. She finally had her chance to represent her country again, and she would do even better this time! With her friends and family with her, she would not fail!

The stage begins dark and grey. Marien is the only one on the stage, so it seems, and is wearing a rather lacy dress. The stage is adorned with a red carpet and a rope red and gold fence. The music begins, with each note triggering a different light behind her in a seemingly random order. While originally facing with her back to the audience, as soon as the music begins, she whips around to face her loving fans and haters. She walks up to the mic stand in front of her as the lights pulse, only to knock it off of the stage, revealing it as fake. From behind her emerge 4 men, holding a microphone each, dressed as journalists. One of them holds a microphone to her as the lyrics come in.

A magical rendezvous
The city streets still in view
And yet I’m desolate waiting for your light
The only thing that can get me through the night
A life full of mystery
Won’t mean nothing without me
From Moscow to New York I have loved and lost
Who would’ve known that you would soon be the cost

And in comes the chorus. Another journalist comes in with another microphone, holding it up to her as the lights behind her begin to flash rapidly in time with the music. The other 3 journalists hold her up, as if floating her into the sky and rotating her around, all while one tries to reach her, jumping up desperately to try to get to her height. But it's in vain, as he gives up halfway through the chorus.

And I should just let it be
But still my heart’s holding on
To those two months when we didn’t part our ways
To those two months, they passed by just like a blaze
And I should just let it be
But still my heart’s holding on
To those two months when we didn’t hate our lives
To those two months, we had everything in fives
And still I can’t let it be

During the chorus, various techniques are employed, from fog at the beginning to pyrotechnics for the fourth line, and a whole suite of flashing lights in whites, soft greens, baby blues and light pinks, illuminating the stage in their brilliance. For the brief instrumental, Marien is lowered onto the ground and behind her the journalists begin to perform a similar routine as seen in Yelle's music video as the colours of the lights become more extreme. They die down as Marien proceeds into the next verse and another reporter steps in to wield his microphone.

Seeing you still in my eyes
In each corner, in disguise
And something’s going on that I can’t express
It’s like my life’s headed straight down for distress
Should just let go already
I’ve loved and lost, can’t I see
I’ve loved and lost, loved and lost, oh, c’est la vie
Can’t keep chasing you, I should let it be

The second and final chorus begins with a flash of light after a relatively uneventful verse. Marien, now situated at the front of the catwalk with the other journalists, is deserted, left alone to rattle at the rope and lament. Her singing explodes across the forum, her voice heard across and around the arena. With passion and gratefulness for those that helped her on the way to stardom. From her mother to Sylvia to even her ex-fiancé, they all had a part to play in getting her here.

And I should just let it be
I feel like I’m going mad
For those two months when we didn’t part our ways
For those two months, they passed by just like a blaze
And I should just let it be
I feel like I’m going mad
For those two months when we didn’t hate our lives
For those two months, you went too far, paid the price
And still I can’t let it be

Another instrumental sets in, with Marien now joining in on the dancing for the extended ending. The lights flare up again, with one final push to the finish in all manner of reds, greens and blues. The journalists take off their blazers and glasses, dancing choreographed in just shirts, ties and trousers, prompting some ooo's from certain sectors of the audience.

And then it's over. She's done performing, but this is only the first song tonight. Exhilarated, she and the performers leave the stage, but not without a final...

"THANK YOU WORLD!"

by **Iqq Northwest Bir Tawil Halaib Triangles** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:26 pm

02.

#IQQ

Lil' Cooper Oliver Cameron Kennedy Neil Brendan Andrew Liam Lancaster Smith McDonlingstonshawhamsburyfieldlea-Aldershamptonsvillecourtiania (Lil' COCKNBALLS McDonalds) - "I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE, I WANT TO LOSE”

Tune: Napalm Death - You Suffer

Lil' COCKNBALLS McDonalds epicly walks onto the stage.

LOSE!

After he finishes earblasting the crowd, he throws cement blocks at the audience, killing 3 people and injuring at least 60 people. The crowd can be visibly heard screaming in intense pain, while Lil' COCKNBALLS McDonalds laughs extremely loud into the microphone. He tries to teleport to Alpha Centauri to escape criminal charges, but it was too late! Guards then arrest him and escort him out of the stage, where he was then sent to a volcano to boil in a pit of lava to his ultimate death. Lil' COCKNBALLS McDonalds teleports unharmed back onto the stage, where he starts running at the audience at speeds of 200 km/h. He then starts stabbing people with his substantially pointy ass chin, and manages to kill 23 more people, before the guards use the world's brightest lazer and points it on Lil' COCKNBALLS McDonalds, where he begins to burn up to 69,420ºC, and where he begins to break up into many atoms.

by **StrayaRoos** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:39 pm

03|STRAYAROOS|
#STR
Sajuna-Sharks

Bon Jovi-Livin on A prayer
so Altos' days of Worldvision are Over and The First STRSong Contest Had Sajuna End up Victorious and She will represent the Nation in Valletta and we will be victorious! (Top 20 is also Fine

)
Sharks comes from her 4th Studio Album: Creeping Up (On You) which reached Number 1 one the StrayaRoos Music Charts
this is also the first song that has an Decent chance of Getting top 20 (From StrayaRoos)

Sajuna Comes out in an Shark Dress similar to Bjork's Swan one IRL

The Song

Once upon a time not so long ago
A shark was Harpooned
and It bit someone
Then it was Shot

Then The Screen Lights up an gives the Arena an Undersea feel

And that Angered the Sharks livin in the sea
(oh,Oh Livin in the sea)

then the Boats took the fish away

The Lights then Become So bright they Eclipse Elejamie's Later in the night

And that Angered the Sharks livin in the sea
(oh,oh Livin in the sea)

Then came the oil which took out 2 or 3

And that Angered the Sharks livin in the sea
(oh,oh Livin in the sea)

After that Sajuna does the 3 finger symbol from the Hunger Games in respect to the Dead after Iqq Northwest Habib Triangles performance

Also starting from WV97 The Preliminary Rounds of The STRSong Contest will be branded as the..

by **Izmedu** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:48 pm

04. IZMEDU #IZM
Letenje & Kara - Your Heart
Tune: Illenium and Emma Grace - Brave Soul

Kara (Kornelja Gracin) had known and seen when life became harrowing. She saw Letenje through his darkest hours, being his proverbial light in the abyss of his tragic circumstances when the now renowned producer nearly died during the writing of “Let Me Go,” having visited him while he was recovering and going through rehab. Each step of the process was always a fragile one, but Kara never wanted to step away from the very person that gave her a purpose against the tide that was the Izmeduan music industry. He gave her a voice, and she gave him a reason; she had purpose for the first time in her career instead of being a listless soul. She was used to being the person who provides, who makes sure that the others around her would always be alright. That was what she sought for Letenje above all else, making sure that the person behind the name would be alive, would feel free, and be happy. In singing and embodying the words he wrote and lived, she felt alive.

She wondered in hindsight if she should’ve identified that would be her eventual downfall.

She would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t rely on other people. In the years since the 41st World Hit Festival, Kara spent most of her time working within the Izmeduan EDM sphere, either working with Letenje or other producers who needed that kind of emotive vocal she could deliver in the studio. However, she never quite ever fostered or fashioned an identity for herself, displaying a versatility to her style and mood. She once considered this a point of pride, happy to be what other producers needed her to be. This led to a rather marked abyss when she would return home to… no one. Letenje was her sole constant contact, but his busying schedule and increasing prominence (especially when he hit it big in Tödlichebujoku) left Kara with no one to really connect with or bond over. In the interims of waiting for offers from producers, she was often left in lonely Vodiznad nights where she was even afraid of broaching conversations with acquaintances, fearing that they would find her overbearing or demanding of their time.

Around the time of the 82nd WorldVision Song Contest, Kara took a brief hiatus from the Izmeduan music industry, wishing to take a break from the constant collaborations and finding the need to decompress and regroup, not wanting the pressure of being a singer for a short while. In her moment of rest, she remained in Vodiznad, often beginning to frequent bars and places that she never had the time to often visit. Due to her much lower profile in comparison to some of the producers she worked with, she was allowed to get away with slipping by Izmeduan patrons and clubbers, so long as she remembered to introduce herself as Kornelja instead of Kara. It saved her from being recognized in the streets, even though most would’ve only known her by the sound of her voice pulsating and reverberating through ethereal production, it almost caused her to wonder if anybody even had even so much as heard her speak aside from the colleagues she worked with in the Izmeduan EDM scene.

Within that brief intermission, she had met someone who she thought would be the person to give her purpose once more… the very person she would describe behind closed doors as being her proverbial ‘other half,’ less in the romantic sense and more she considered the other as a soul sister. She had met a down on her luck barista working for a mom-and-pop café in Vodiznad, a self-described rebel without a cause whose name was Rahela. She first became an acquaintance with which Kara would talk to here and there before the days and weeks stretched onto them forming a connection that Kara could barely even process. They would exchange numbers and begin to talk outside of when Kara would visit the café during her hiatus from the music industry, with the once lost singer percolating a bond she could barely articulate. Kara was more than just a friend to her… though she didn’t necessarily see the rebellious barista as a romantic interest. She admired her bravery, her willingness to be honest, and the force of personality that led Kara to believe that Rahela was destined for great things in life, whatever those things may be.

Yet the other integral part was that Rahela listened, and displayed a profound patience even when Kara inadvertently revealed that she wasn’t just Kornelja Gracin, but that she was ‘the WHF Kara,’ the ‘Kara that sang with Letenje.’ What once were casual chats about their working lives turned from Kara beginning to rattle off every single feeling of listlessness she felt while trying to stay alive and survive the notoriously tough Izmeduan music industry. There were pains that she felt that she was only articulating with Rahela herself, from how she nearly found herself falling to the same traps as Letenje, of feeling like she had no identity… that her voice didn’t matter. She found herself drowning that she had almost missed the memo of cherishing those small moments with Rahela, something that especially left her reeling when she had to tell Rahela that she needed to continue working.

In hindsight, she wished that she did not emotionally dump so many of her toils onto someone who herself was struggling.

About a week into Kara’s return to work, she garnered word through one of her mutual friends with Rahela that the woman that she struck a friendship was brutally murdered… She didn’t even have the heart to figure out how or why, nor was she even ready to process where she was even found. All she remembered was that she forgot about working once more, that sense of drowning she felt with Rahela overwhelming her every single emotion, and now she was no longer there to be her proverbial and literal anchor. She was awash with a grief and love that intensified, the pain of a fleeting and friendship leaving her too emotionally compromised to even continue on with her working day, leaving Kara to muddle over the profound implications of what this all meant.

Rahela was gone… She was gone. That’s all she could think in the immediate aftermath of her death.

She didn’t want to know how or why. She only had the energy to know that she had crept past an abyss, that she was the one falling into a void that she wanted she desperately out of. She only had the energy to pinpoint that she had relied on Rahela more than she would like to admit, those few weeks she had with her leaving a more profound impact than she would’ve ever envisaged. Her grief was not just a grief for what she lost… it was also a grief for what could’ve been. A close friendship could’ve been a sisterhood, a close friendship could’ve entailed that she could’ve helped Rahela had this been in a scale of years instead of just those few months. Instead, life took it all away… her murder took that chance away, leaving Kara with only memories she wished she could change, memories of telling so much to Rahela, memories of her patience, her smile, her laugh… The ease of being with her in those quiet moments. She missed those nights where she hung out in the Vodiznad prominade, of feeling normal with her, and yet feeling a profundity in that normalcy with Rahela.

She missed her.

Kara also wouldn’t admit to the amount of panicked messages she sent to Letenje.

The grief of losing Rahela didn’t immediately lead to a song, and neither did she want to utilize her career as a way to process her loss so immediately. She was left at a crossroads of having already taken a break to needing more time to process what she had lost, but it was painful to sift through demos of up-and-coming producers and no longer finding a guttural belief in each lyric she tried to sing. Studio sessions were no longer bearing the fruit or productivity they once had and Kara found that going home each and every night led her astray towards a deeper void of grief she was struggling to claw herself out of. She needed help. She needed the one person that gave her purpose. She broke the pretense of utilizing stage names, texting Letenje within the midst of a tear-stained panic and referring to him as Alan. She almost begged him to come back home, but the text message only came out as a direct cry for help.

She busied herself with at least some form of work as her messages were able to convince Letenje to return to Izmedu, putting a pause on some promotional events and engagements in Tödlichebujoku that weren’t really related to promoting any major project. By this point, the now vaunted producer was only beginning to assemble the building blocks of his second album, Ablaze, but there wasn’t a cohesive concept or even a solid set of songs instead of early possibilities he was looking at in terms of singles and promotion. The message from Kara was one that the producer hadn’t expected, but follow-up conversations and further text messages convinced Letenje that this was more than what video calls or crystallomatrix messages would be able to solve. He recognized when a person was lost within that proverbial and literal abyss, and as much as he didn’t want to overly rely on his increased status since his time in the international spotlight… it was how he had the cache to put a brief pause to a career, because he knows that Kara wouldn’t be able to be afforded that kind of help.

In his time of darkness, she was his light, his reason. When he touched down upon Vodiznad to be greeted with a broken and lost Kara, barely keeping it together in the wake of a death of someone she wanted to consider a sister, he was determined to repay Kara for the help she granted him during the 41st World Hit Festival. He would be her light and her anchor for as long as she needed, regardless of how long it took and what he needed to pause. The first week of being with Kara was a difficult one for both, the darkness of her grief sometimes too much to handle for the duo. Still, there would be an ebb and flow where Letenje would be able to get through to Kara, reminding through a daily mantra that Kara was not alone through this grief, and that there was a way out in navigating these emotions. Eventually, not by some profound moment or even a singular realization, Kara would allow herself to heal through writing the song that would eventually become “Your Heart.”

The way the song began was an almost innocent process, really only beginning after a month’s long break from Letenje’s part and when he would jet back off to Tödlichebujoku to continue his work. Still, both Letenje and Kara kept in constant contact with one another, dedicating at least a few nights a week to simply talk as they are, and the push to do so especially came from the producer who had easily picked up on the fuller extent of Kara’s isolation and how alone she especially felt in the abyss that was the Izmeduan music industry. They would trade lyrics from afar, emboldening their connection and sharing within that mutual pain that still left its mental scars on the both of them. As time passed, the more the song would develop, and the more that the harrowing days of the past were more of a harrowing nightmare than one that Kara lived through. For the patience that Letenje displayed and the compassion and time he was willing to give… for that, Kara was more than grateful.

It was there where she realized that he had saved her life.

The song itself turned from a project of distracting herself to becoming an integral part of her healing process. Kara wrote every single word, each lyric being infused with a memory of Rahela, and the process of writing such a song was an agonizing process of revision, rewriting, and workshopping with Letenje and a few others she trusted. She did not even share this with her management, preferring to keep this as a more private project. Letenje would provide the production to bring the song and her vision alive. Though the song was credited to the both of them, each aspect of the production, ad hoc as it was, could not have happened until Kara herself gave the green light. In heart, this was Kara’s song, and Letenje wanted nothing more than to provide the space to allow Kara’s still broken heart and mind to piece itself together once more.

Each word resonated with cracks in the seam of her broken psyche, but she was still finding the will to move forward and fought to keep this track alive. Decisions were made to include this in the album, the concluding note to “Ablaze” as a bookend to how their first track together (“Let Me Go”) was the song that started it all. Life would pass as they worked on this song, other songs would be completed, Kara would fulfill her duties as a reliable vocal for Izmeduan EDM, while Letenje’s sophomore major label effort would go from strength to strength. Still, they wouldn’t forget about this song, and now… they found themselves in Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo, they together about to bring this song into the international limelight.

Under the darkness of their shared pain, they would and will shine.

Part III - Healing

It was a strange feeling remembering that this was a song contest, and it was only in that moment where the lights finally beat down on the both of them and the Fed-Ex Forum Arena was drowned in a darkness that no doubt appeared as a fleeting abyssal void for those watching at home. The only proof, to the singer and producer’s eyes and ears, that this arena was the frenzy of excitement surrounding the contest was the cheering that never quite stopped as the Izmeduan entry was about to begin in earnest. The arena would sit in a brief moment of silence, as if there was a glitch that happened with the playback that caused a delay to hit the backing track. However, it would not be long until the first strains of an instrumentation began to resonate through the venue, with the camera slowly fading to a rather close view of Kara. Her head was down, eyes closed and forlornly gazing towards the floor in those first few seconds that the instrumentation introduced the song. It would not be long until her cue to sing came up in her in-ears, and she would gaze towards the cameras as a spotlight slowly shined on her. She was alone on stage, no sign of Letenje anywhere thus far. She began to sing the first verse.

I still hear you in my dreams
You were taken and I’m left shattered
Each part of me is a broken seam
I could not have imagined this life without you

The cadence of her voice was heavy, no less the demeanor she displayed as she lingered on each word as carefully and slowly as she could without appearing like she was meandering. Kara kept her voice steady as she kept the emotions at bay as best she could, but her eyes resonated with the pain of grief ever so briefly. The cameras would occasionally fade to wider shots of the stage, revealing through outlines of the audience that she was on the main stage itself and not on the circular catwalk that surrounded the smaller crowd pit in front of her. Still, the focus was on her, the stage remaining dark and the lights, sparse as they were, in a rather monochrome white. When the cameras would focus on her, she would reach out towards them in those third and fourth lines, turning away as another camera on stage, shrouded in darkness, would slowly make its way for a sweeping and close-up shot of her as the verse ended.

Please hear me
Can you hear these broken melodies I try to write?
Will you ever hear my cries?

She pleaded to the camera on that she was singing to, her emotions in full view and resonating through each word she sung. Her free arm trembled as she went through each word, her vocals taking on a lightly stronger bent than the studio version released prior to the contest though Kara’s voice still remained low and gentle. It was evident that she was attempting to keep it together, her eyes gleaming for a fleeting second before she turned away from the camera that was now slowly going backstage, the view slowly fading to another. The stage still remained looking like a darkened abyss except for the sole spotlight shining on the singer, her eyes looking upwards as the pre-chorus ended.

Can I find your heart before you fade away?
Even though you’re no longer here
I’m lost without you, my soul’s still aching
And each memory of you haunts me
I won’t forget your smile, nor your lasting light
You were more than this cruel life
Can I find your heart?
So your memories will stay with me?

Each aspect of the song only allowed Kara a brief moment of rest. Still, the first half of the song remained ever so gentle, the chorus commencing with a gentle array of lights that allowed for just a touch more illumination that pervaded around the stage. These lights remained white still, with none of the familiar orange so associated with Letenje’s brand or even a sense of fire. The chorus began with a far away view, Kara looking upwards as if she was slowly emerging from the abyss that were the first lines of the song. Her vocals became more resonant, a touch louder as she no longer enunciated in such a hushed tone. Her pleas became more forceful, directing them towards the person she lost as she stepped forward, as if in active search for the other half that she had lost. The intensified instrumentation was a frame to the pain she was now more openly showing, Kara’s vocalizations through each and every lyric almost becoming cries that she was doing everything she could to hold and steady, but the more she sang… the more she wished to let go of what was locked within. For once, Kara was no longer draped in shadow, her face and body now in full view of the audience at home and in the arena, yet this only allowed her emotions to be displayed against the contrast of the still darkened arena. Light would enter the world around her, but she was only asking, singing the questions that she may not even find any answers for. Her eyes closed as she finished out the chorus with such a yearning delivery of those last few lines, staggering back as she allowed her arms to fall for a longer moment of rest and the stage would finally further illumintate. No longer would it appear that she was alone…

I hear only silence
I still stand here living what we knew
Day by day I’m piecing myself whole
Yet still I live without you

Sparse streaks of orange would begin to dart through the stage as the camera faded to a view of the producer that helped assemble the song, Letenje’s visage familiar to those that watched him in the World Hit Festival or had followed his music career in Tödlichebujoku and Izmedu. He was situated behind a constructed producer table specifically for the performance, producing equipment hidden by an additional set of screens he often commissioned for festival appearances or when he needed to be on stage for contests. His face was solemn as he gazed towards Kara, who would be singing the first song towards his direction. The streaks of orange light were concentrated towards where he was, while Kara was wreathed in a ghostly trail of white lights. Neither would be looking towards the camera, but Kara’s eyes were directed towards the producer, walking towards him with her back turned against the audience. Her walk was teemed with a dual uncertainty and hope, her voice once more returned to that lower register. She tried to play a determination in the third line, but that was betrayed by a wincing in the fourth, ending the second verse quickly.

Please hear me
Can you hear these broken melodies I try to sing?
Will my song reach your soul?

Even though the pre-chorus was only but a fleeting part of the song, her eyes were locked towards Letenje’s way. There was a building forcefulness to her vocals, hushed and low as they were. She was further verging on the verge of falling and falling, each second making it more difficult to keep it together. The pleas never ceased, and this was only but a further continuation of the questions she would ask to the heavens in the wake of the death of someone close to her… the very questions she asked to Letenje herself even, reminded of those recording sessions and chat logs where she tried to seek meaning in loss and grief. She would turn towards the audience again, trying to find answers where there may be none, searching for meaning even when the emotions threatened to swallow her whole.

Can I find your heart before you fade away?
Even though you’re no longer here
I’m lost without you, my soul’s still aching
And each memory of you haunts me
I won’t forget your smile, nor your lasting light
You were more than this cruel life
Can I find your heart?
So your memories will stay with me?

She walked forward for the first time tonight, the chorus holding back the instrumentation for the first half. A lonely piano accompanied her vocals as they haunted the arena, light echo effects and reverberations reinforcing her solitude on stage. Though Letenje was there, the producer was far enough away still to create an effect where it truly was just Kara herself braving these very sentiments on her own. In here, she asked the question towards the audience, as if trying to find who she lost within the darkness of the crowd, within the nosebleeds of the arena, somewhere, anywhere… Even though she knew that they were no longer here with her. Each camera view accentuated this image of the forlorn and broken singer, never once staring into the camera. Instead, the audience would be the viewers of that grief up close. The second half of the chorus would see the lights and instrumentation once more, Kara’s delivery of the vocals once more reaching towards that strong sense of yearning she allowed herself to feel not too long ago. However, it came out far more strongly this time. She nearly lost it in those last few lines, almost singing to the floor in an attempt to keep it together without sacrificing the raw feeling of putting this song together and performing it. In those last two lines, she found a thoroughway in herself to keep her emotions in check, reminding herself that Letenje was with her for this performance. She could see a streak of orange lights begin to shine through as she ended the chorus, faint rays of light that gave her hope even as her vocals exuded brokenness. She clutched her chest as she ended that chorus, stepping back as she could feel Letenje’s production begin to reverberate throughout the venue.

So your memories will stay with me?
With me, with me
So your memories will stay with me?
With me, with me
So your memories will stay with me?
With me, with me

Letenje closed his eyes, knowing that this was where he would truly drive the song home and be the beacon of hope that Kara desperately needed. This was more than simply beyond providing a drop or production to make it memorable, what he produced was what he saw and heard in the uneven and long road to recovery and healing from that grief. He took a deep breath as he proverbially ‘took over’ the song, even though very project itself belonged to both him and Kara, and even though he knew that in spirit, this was Kara’s song no doubt. The lights intensified as the bridge towards the drop would begin, an ever furthering and intensifying build up to the moment that he and Kara devised as the climax to the whole song. He would finetune the instrumental production around her repeating and yearning vocals, the same question giving him the fuel to step forward and take flight. The cameras focused on Letenje as he mouthed the lyrics alongside Kara’s singing, timed post-processing effects alternating between him and Kara before the focus eventually settled onto the producer himself. As Kara’s vocalizations ended, it was clear to see that Letenje was hard at work preparing to reproduce and perform the last few minutes of the song live, a look of determination and devotion aimed towards Kara’s direction.

A drum beat would be added to further the build-up, as Letenje was hard at work second by second to ensure that each part of the song and production would be playing and queued correctly. His eyes were furrowed with that determination to ensure that he would be able to express Kara’s pain through the very lens he knew he could, through the production where these feelings of grief and despair found and made sense. The build-up was interspersed with wider shots of the stage, the images on the screens now finally displaying something instead of remaining blank. Orange and white lights danced about the arena, dimmed in recognition of what was being displayed. Faint images of a CGI world wrought in darkness and wreathed in pure destruction and darkness were being destroyed, the only sign of light and life being the very producer that was building up the song to its climactic moment. Letenje’s eyes closed as the drums hastened their pace for a second or two, before he pared it back and allowed for that one set up moment that framed the drop. The producer took a step back for just a moment, and then lunged forward to truly start the climax in earnest…

The song exploded in a burst of pent up emotions, the drop having started in earnest akin to a river finally allowing to flow free. A wave of electronic production reverberated through the speakers as the arena itself glowed in a chaotic if grand display of orange and orange-yellow lights, as if dawn had finally arisen on a dark day. It illuminated the hopeless landscapes that were being shown on the screen, and fire would begin to envelop the ashes of had been once destroyed in the virtual world that was being displayed. Letenje would vigorously move his head and body to the beat of the drop, being the very source of the fire and the light that illuminated the arena, gleaming against the darkness that began the song. The climax itself never seemed to cease, Letenje putting in everything he could into this performance to bring out what he had created through weeks and months of mixing, of assembling these notes on a computer, playing them out on a studio. Each sound was almost a cry, even if it seemed virtual and artificial, his demeanor was anything but a fake display. Everything to him was palpably real, from Kara’s grief to reckoning with the darkness that held within. The production intensified as he settled a beat, focusing in on the howling-esque sounds that truly drove home the emotions behind the song. The camera were at a frenzy trying to keep focus on the multiple things on the stage, cuts from Letenje, to the stage as a whole, and the brief narrative being displayed on stage. The world on screen was being consumed by fire, yet it was the first time the world itself looked alive and more than just dead landscapes wreathed in ash.

The production would finally come to an end, Letenje and Kara left with nothing more than the darkness that once started the song. For the last 20 or so seconds of the song, a gentle piano would be interspersed with the aftermath of the production, brief reverberations alongside notes being displayed and gentle electronic production being the outro. The world was no more and the stage was once more shrouded in darkness. However, what was left was instead the gleaming form of Letenje and Kara standing on the stage, their positions marked with gleaming lights where they were situated. The producer’s face was looking upwards with his eyes closed, having long ago memorized this routine, and how to close out the song without even so much as needing to glance down towards the production machines on his hands. Kara’s voice echoed once more as she softly sang “with me,” her voice sitting in the background as a ghost, that she too remained an integral part of all of this. For each second the instrumentation continued to soften, the camera would slowly pan back from this view, the viewers at home seeing two souls standing deep within the void of darkness that was the stage, refusing to be lost against the darkness that threatened to take away their lives. The instrumentation would eventually fade into a silence, marking the end of the Izmeduan entry.

Within the depths of darkness, they still shined.

by **Polkopia** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 2:58 pm

Tune: Manizha - "Now or Never"

Poli Vera's participation in the Landa vy Polkopiya was the very first for the up-and-coming artist, who before had only released songs which generated a few thousand views on across various streaming platforms. She was known by few, and her relatively small following prior to the competition left many forgetting the artist once the final list of participants was released. At the time, rumors had been circulating that the Landa vy Polkopiya would feature artists suck as Rokzana, Rena Lorak, and Zara Danasiva, all of whom had participated in previous editions of the contest and have generated a massive following throughout the years after their initial entries in the competition. It wasn't until the final list of competing artists was released that these rumors were finally squashed, but many were left disappointed at the list of competing artists. None of these artists had ever before participated in previous editions of the LvP, and many had no idea what to expect of this contest. Normally, there were one or two familiar faces people recognized before the big show, but this edition proved to be unique in that not a single artist had more than 100,000 monthly listeners. While this hasn't been confirmed by the Polkopian National Broadcaster as of yet, many speculate that this was done in order to promote a wider variety of artists to the Polkopian public, as critics had previously claimed that the PNB had become limited to specific artists and genres. Due to the unfamiliarity that many in Polkopia had regarding these artists, the semi-finals for the Landa vy Polkopiya generated one of the lowest number of viewers in ten editions, however that didn't seem to be the case for the Grand Final, which saw over 3.2 million viewers, a figure that, while lower than last year, was consistent with the average number of viewers the PNB normally expected for the event.

Once the event had ended, a combination of the public and international jury votes meant that Poli Vera was to win the Landa vy Polkopiya with her song, Forever. The song featured lyrics in English and Polkopian, and talked about reminiscing over a person from the perspective of a women who never had the confidence to tell that person how she felt. After winning, Poli decided that she wanted the song to have a deeper meaning and announced on social media that she would be rewriting her song to feature different lyrics. This caused a bit of a stir within the PNB, as this lyrical revamp had never been approved by any of the producers for the network. Normally, artists winning the Landa vy Polkopiya have to sign a contract with the PNB if they are to accept the invitation to sing at Worldvision, where the broadcaster would have the final say regarding staging, song revamps, and activities that the artist is allowed to participate in, though historically, these regulations have been fairly lax. Poli had never consulted her colleagues at the PNB befopre making this decision, however, and the young artist was threatened to be pulled out of the contest and replaced with the Landa vy Polkopiya's runner-up, Alpha-Betic. It wasn't until Poli presented her lyrical changes to the PNB where they decided that the updated lyrics were better than the original, and Poli was allowed to sing her new song, November, at Worldvision. Be that as it may, she was under intense scrutiny from some of the top executives within the PNB in order to ensure she didn't further breach any of the clauses in her contract, For Poli, however, she was absolutely elated to have the lyrical change, as she expressed that she song now took on a deeper meaning than longing for love. It tackled issues of watching someone you love spiral into a depressive state, becoming a shell of their former selves. Despite questioning from the press, Poli has yet to clarify the meaning of the final chorus of the song. Some assume that it told the story of two lovers drifting apart, but others speculate that it has a darker meaning, possibly relating to tropes of an immense mental health decline leading to suicide, or other drastic measures. Poli has, however, left it up to interpretation, stating that the song can have different meanings for everyone who listens to it. The only important thing, she says, is to get something meaningful out of the work of art she has created, no matter what it is, because that's the beauty of art; everybody can take away something different from it and relate it to some aspect of their own lives.

Once onstage, Poli Vera stood in the very center, wearing a long, flowing blue gown whose color was so muted that it looked almost grey. The ruffles along her sleeves hung down several feet past her hands, and large pieces of fabric stuck from nearly every hem in the dress, giving the illusion that the dress was tattered. The dress's train ran several meters behind Poli, nearly reaching the back of the stage. She stood behind an old-school, brass microphone, illuminated by only a single spotlight on-stage, whereas the rest of the stage was completely black. Her silhouette was the only thing visible on the LED screen in the background, giving the audience an eerie sense of aloneness. The opening lines were meant to be quite intimate, as Poli sings about the atmosphere and tries to paint a visual picture inside listeners' heads, rather than illuminate the setting by way of phony illuminations and projections. The camera was positioned about knee-high level, and at about a 30° angle away from her, so that much of her face was still visible, but one could still see the emotions present from her profile. She looked straight forward and held her hands close to her breast, clutching her hands in one another as she looked straight ahead, toward nothing in particular, as she sang about a day that played ever so clearly in her mind on a daily basis, as if were on a constant loop on a film reel inside her mind.

Last November,
Underneath a clouded sky,
Remember?
How the seagulls drifted by
Misfortune
Was everything you've ever known.

During this second verse, spotlights faintly illuminated a pianist and guitar player who were all standing in the very back of the stage. The lighting wasn't strong enough to show the instrumentalists' features, and they remained faceless shadows throughout the entirety of the verse. Poli allowed her hands to fall to her sides, but only briefly, as she then caressed the microphone and calmly closed her eyes, furrowing her brows in a concentrated display of emotion. This bit was supposed to be as intimate as possible, and Poli's dramatic expressions would only emphasize this feeling that her song was intended to provoke. Although the camera showed her singing from multiple angles, she never once looked directly into the lens, as she felt that would be distracting to the overall performance, and instead focused on simple, yet powerful gestures which silenced the audience who were screaming and cheering for her moments before.

But in November,
Wildflowers shrank away
And sunlight
Was replaced by shades of grey
In silence
Gazing out across the bay...

In the background, viewers could see the guitarist strumming his guitar while Poli opened her eyes and looked up toward the ceiling. The camera panned out and views could soon see a drummer was onstage too, though only dimly illuminated by the stage lighting, similar to the other members of the band on stage. During the second line, the camera zoomed in, and viewers got a glimpse of the drummer starting to beat down on his drums with his drumsticks as Poli squeezed her eyes shut, took a step back, and held the microphone stand close to her face as she sang.

If you could have it your way, you'd let it rain all day
You never captured the rays the sun brought you today...

As soon as the next verse started, the lights brightened so that all members on stage were visible. All of them seemed immersed in their own little world, playing their own instruments and not giving any indication that they knew Poli was there. Poli, in the meantime, transitioned to a more relaxed disposition, moving her shoulders around, gesturing with her hands to mimic some of the lyrics, and so on. For example, as she sang "it's burning," she rubbed her thumb against her other fingers as she raised her arm above her head, mimicking a sort of fire that was burning. Although she moved her arms and hands enthusiastically, she never left her position on stage and remained standing in that one spot throughout the entire duration of this verse.

Chasing embers,
Smoldering your perfect world.
It's burning
Straight through your fragile soul.
Oh baby,
I won't let the fire burn you.

And all the splendor
The fame, and fortune, all my love
Together,
Will never, ever be enough
To heal you
From your own worst enemy

As soon as she sang this next part, she grabbed the microphone stand, leaned forward, and hunched over the microphone, looking directly into the camera. Wind machines started to blow the fabric of her dress slightly, so that the material sprawled across the stage started to lift up and ripple across the stage floor. While one hand grabbed the microphone, her other hand was behind her. Although the camera was positioned in a way so that the viewers couldnt see it, her other hand was throwing bits of fabric over her with the intention of catching the material in the wind machine so that they too would start to blow and create even more of an effect on the stage ambiance.

If you could have it your way, you'd let it rain all day
You never captured the rays the sun brought you today...

During the breakdown of the song, the camera circled around Poli, who closed her eyes and looked up, still holding the microphone close to her face. During the second half of this part of the song, the camera stopped so that Poli was directly in the middle of the shot, before zooming out as she sang, "through".

Last November,
You and I, together
You don't need a reason to be alive

Here we are,
Never close, never far
In the hottest fires, you shone through

The camera showed a frontal view of the stage now, where Poli gripped the microphone stand with both of her hands and started to storm around the stage as she belted into the microphone. The wind machine picked up, blowing the fabric of the long train connected to her dress all around the stage, seemingly engulfing her in the material. Additionally, fireworks rained from above, sending sparks down to the stage while the members of the band began furiously playing their instruments. Poli kept moving around the stage until she sang, "end", at which point, she planted her microphone to the ground, held her head back, and held the long note. After that note, she spread her arms out to either side, holding them out wide and she closed her eyes, held her head back, and sang. Even those at the very back of the stage could see the emotion present on her face. Though Poli didn't allow tears to fall, it seemed as if she was ready to cry at any given moment as she sang the last bit of the chorus. Once she sang, "sky," the lights once again dimmed, and the audience saw her chest rise and fall as she collected her breath during the outro of the song.

Ohhh, last November,
Broken, battered empty heart
However,
We won the fight but lost the war.
We never,
Thought to see it 'til the end, oh...

In December,
Love was never meant to win.
I'll miss you,
For as long as I shall live
Oh baby,
Underneath the clouded sky...

The lights returned to normal and Poli wiped her face. "Thank you!" she shouted into the microphone. Her voice sounded croaky as she bid farewell to the crowd, but waved to them regardless. Her performance had ended, and the performers all left the stage to make way for the Kalosian performers.

by **StrayaRoos** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 3:41 pm

The Commentators Matt Jak (Volleyball) and Al Jak (F1)

by **Kalosia** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 4:03 pm

06
Kalosia
Go On — Lesusetë
performed in English to the tune of You Don't Like Swimming — The Brahms

ABOUT LESUSETË

Ah, Lesusetë. No longer are they a stranger to the fan community of multiversal song contests. Their relatively successful participation in the 50th World Hit Festival with the song Lë kaminu introduced the world to them, and they must've entered the radar of WorldVision fans when they participated in the 60th Festival dëla Kanžu Kalosianë almost a year ago, as fans knew it was likely we would get a Kalosian WV entry out of the festival. And well, we got more than just one.

It was through this path that made Lesusetë an option for the delegation to send, although their last place in the final with the song Imprutël koru miu ('Borrow my heart') meant that they were a rather low priority compared to the other acts. After the festival, one by one the select FKK60 finalists graced the WorldVision stage, either with their FKK entry or with newly prepared tracks. As the months passed, the remaining artists gradually decided to drop their interest and went to pursue other projects. Lesusetë had done this as well; when they were approached by RTVK for the 95th contest they had returned to the studio to record new music. Thus, a non-FKK60 entrant was chosen (granted one that participated just the year before), the first since WV90. Still, the band made a promise to get back to RTVK when they were ready, and indeed they were in time for the 96th edition.

By the way, the band's name is a phonetic spelling, in Kalosian, of the pronunciation of the 1960s French song Les sucettes.

ABOUT THE SONG

The song, titled Go On, is in English. It is part of their upcoming album, which is in English. As the band previously mainly released Kalosian-language music, Go On is their first ever English-language release. The song is a typical rock song, as is most of the band's repertoire. Some fans who are familiar with their FKK entry have compared the similarities between the two, to the point where some are unable to tell the difference. But that's just what happens when you don't listen to rock often. Imprutël koru miu and Go On are two distinct, original songs.

Lyrically, the song is told from the perspective of a person falling out of love with their partner. They ponder on the future of their relationship, with the singer declaring that it is best to part ways move on sooner before things take a turn for the worst.

THE ENTRY

At the contest, Kalosia was drawn to perform 6th, after Polkopia and before Aenglide. As Polkopia's Poli Vera made her way offstage, it was time for action.

For the big night, the four members of Lesusetë were dressed in monochrome. The band were setup on the main stage, and as the song began the background graphics showed imagery of a beach, meeting what looks like a seemingly endless sea.

You know it’s just not nice how it’s going
The air we breathe, it reeks of our misery
If I tried today to put pen to paper
Memories, they will flow like nevermore
But our pride is lost in the folklore

For the verse and pre-chorus, the lights were pretty tame. The camera angles were somewhat calm, not being too fast-paced either as they focused on the lead singer.

Cause we’re at the limit
At the point of no return
And it’s time to give it
Up and away before we burn

But now this was when things became a little wild. The LED lights (not the background screen) moved quickly, somewhat akin to tunnel lights as perceived from a fast moving car. The atmosphere was definitely more lively here, the audience was having tons of fun and even our performers on stage are moving around a little.

Oh it don’t feel right, don’t know what to do with you
If it’s our last time, give me one more taste of you
Yeah it don’t feel right, don’t know where to go with you
It just don’t feel right

Now things calmed down a little as we returned to the verse. The camera, which had showed wide shots of the stage and audience, went back to focusing on the lead singer.

So let’s begin our path of recovery
As we are looking back at our memories
What a know it all that we used to wonder
When we will reach our happily ever more
There was no other way out for us before

Now the angles started getting wider, and we got glimpses of the other band members on stage.

But we’re at the limit
At the point of no return
And it’s time to give it
Up and away before we burn

Back again to the chorus, the audience was up on their feet and dancing/jumping along.

Oh it don’t feel right, don’t know what to do with you
If it’s our last time, give me one more taste of you
Yeah it don’t feel right, don’t know where to go with you
It just don’t feel right

Now the post-chorus is introduced, which in this case is also the middle eight. The lights are flashing rather intensely here, and the background screen is flashing black and white too.

Gotta go on, gotta go on
Let’s keep moving on, baby, let’s keep moving on
Cause we gotta go on, gotta go on
Let’s keep moving on, baby, you are better off without me

All of a sudden, everything calmed down. The lights stopped and even faded, leaving a dim atmosphere. The audience cheered as the lead singer took the mic off the stand and slowly made his way to the front of the stage, onto the catwalk.

Oh it don’t feel right, don’t know what to do with you
If it’s our last time, give me one more taste of you
Yeah it don’t feel right, don’t know where to go with you
It just don’t feel right

As he headed to the satellite stage, various members of the audience extended their hands towards him. When he got there, he continued to sing, and the flashing lights came back on, with the background screen also flashing in black and white.

Gotta go on, gotta go on
Let’s keep moving on, baby, let’s keep moving on
Cause we gotta go on, gotta go on
Let’s keep moving on, baby, you are better off without me

He belted out the final line of the song before promptly running back to the main stage.

We are better off without…

As the song ended, he made it back to the main stage in time and reunited with his mates in time for the entry to be over. The audience cheered. The lead singer thanked the audience and made their way backstage as Delia Kísjvor, the act from Aenglide, prepared to take over.

by **Aenglide** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 5:08 pm

07. Aenglide
#AED
Delia Kísjvor - "You Don't Love Me"
Tune: Iryna Fedyshyn - Там де ти
Language: English

Background

Delia Kísjvor is a pop musician born and raised in Keterig, Aenglide. Like many of the previous representatives for Aenglide, Delia has had a childhood surrounded by music. Her father was in an old classical jazz band that he had started with his friends in his high school, who had themselves performed in front of small audiences. Delia began to sing when she was six years old and has moved through primary school and high school with lots of vocal training and music classes. Delia has also learned how to play the guitar, piano and violin through her musical education.

By the early age of fifteen, she had entered the third edition of Aenglide’s Got Talent and had ended up in the runner’s up position. This early success has since led her to become one of Aenglide’s popular musicians, and still continues to produce music to this day, with signed contracts by few record label companies based in Aenglide.

This year, Delia has celebrated a #3 top position this year with her single “Éná Élsk” (“Into Love”), the highest she has ever placed on Ænglidvékljkǽrten (The Aenglish Weekly Charts). Since she began her singing career, some previous songs of hers had consistently made itself onto the charts, but never in such a high position like #3. The song "You Don't Love Me", is a song from her 6th studio album "Ambitious Creation". Since her popularity and fame has risen up with the Aenglish charts, the Aenglish jury has been able to recognise her works, and this is how she was called up to represent Aenglide in the 96th edition of Worldvision in beautiful Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo!

Welcome to Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo

A week is before the night of the contest itself, and Delia arrives in Malta Comino Gozo. She is immediately fascinated with the culture and the beautiful landscape that Valletta and all of Malta Comino Gozo has to offer. However, it is not long until the sun fades away into the horizon so she must head to the place where she is staying, which is a hotel within Valletta.

The sun rises in the morning of the next day, and Delia plans a lot of things to go sightseeing around during her stay in Malta Comino Gozo. Around the middle of the morning, she takes a brief walk around Valletta. She walks around the city walls that surround Valletta, and visits the Malta Comino Gozo government buildings, to the many gardens of Valletta. She grabs a coffee from a local café and takes it out onto the streets of Valletta. Delia is able to snap a few pictures (including selfies) around her stroll around the city, and isn't long before she posts all of them onto every social media platform that she has an account on.

Delia is an avid shopper and is no stranger to visiting many clothing stores within her vicinity that she knows of. Sometimes, she can be found in Aenglide going to different malls and stores - sometimes the people in the stores recognise her immediately and ask her for either a picture or her signature. As Delia has become more famous in Aenglide, she has started performing in other countries too, and she has began to have a preference for shopping for clothes in other countries, now that she is able to do so. Marsahick is a new resort and town south of Valletta, and Delia has started of hearing about Marsahick. Marsahick has many boutique shops and many high-end places, which is something that sounds like Delia would visit. At nearly lunch time, Delia uses the great rail service that Malta Comino Gozo has to offer, and within a great amount of time on the trains, she arrives in Marsahick. Delia, who is hungry by this time, enters one of the restaurants in Marsahick and dines in for a bit before having a look around the clothing stores in Marsahick for a good hour or so. By the time she leaves her final store, she is carrying around a purse and a bag full of clothes. Delia was interested at some of the latest designs Marsahick was selling.

By the afternoon, Delia was seen taking around nine photos at this location named Ir-Imjar. It is home to a large cathedral by the name of Mosatra cathedral. Being the largest cathedral in Malta Comino Gozo, this has led it to become one of Malta Comino Gozo's most visited tourist attractions, and Delia is no doubt one of those tourists. Delia normally isn't the type of person to have large interests in history or culture - but the history and culture that she had right in front of her was too good to ignore. She was able to take more photos inside and outside of Mosatra cathedral, and carries on by walking around the seaside town of Ir-Imjar. She takes even more pictures around the seaside views, and even dips her feet into the sea on the beaches there. It started to become late in the day so she returned back after a good day of shopping and visiting attractions.

It was the next day and temperatures were looking good for Malta Comino Gozo. The hot, arid, Mediterranean-type climate was great for someone like Delia, who formerly had allergies due to the colder climates of Aenglide. Delia loved Malta Comino Gozo because of its small size, and that everything to see and do is in within a small proximity! Malta Comino Gozo has many beaches and one of Delia's pastimes when overseas is sunbathing at the beaches. Santa Lucija Bay is the beach that had looked good to her. Delia went at nearly midday to Santa Lucija Bay to do a good hour or so of sunbathing - which was lying down on the beach while simultaneously scrolling through her phone. She went into the sea as well. After doing so, she went back to Valletta, but she made a promise to revisit Santa Lucija Bay, since she had heard about the nightlife there, when restaurants, bars and clubs are open.

For around a bit, she visited more of the gardens and walked around more of the streets around the central city of Valletta. Once the sun started to set below the horizon, she held strong to her promise and found her way back to Santa Lucija Bay. This time, she was there for the nightlife. The partying. Some of the drinking too. She went into a bar, got herself a drink, but was quickly regretting those choices because she remembered that she had a contest to perform at in a few days - and getting fully drunk wasn't the best option - especially when she needed to go for rehearsals and interviews too. She ordered a taxi to pick her up from Santa Lucija Bay to go back to her hotel in Valletta while still being sober, and by the time she got to her hotel room it was nearly midnight.

It was the last available day that Delia had before having to be present within Worldvision rehearsals, staging plans, and countless interviews. Today though, she was going to spend about the entire morning having a great walk around Sunset Nature Reserve. This nature reserve takes up about 1/5 of the main island, and is home to many species of animal. It was a difficult venture around due to the many rock outcrops and wild shrub that is present in the area, but nonetheless, she was able to still spot some rabbits and a Sloth Bear, which is the national animal of Malta Comino Gozo. She found it a little intimidating at first - due to its curved claws, and shaggy hair, but it was a cute animal that she found to be nice. Delia wanted to touch it but remembering the fact that the Sloth Bears attack humans if they think that they are threatening, she did not want to. Delia also saw a lizard but she is not an enjoyer of reptiles or bugs, so she avoided them on her visit.

Her last activity that she wanted to do was rent a car for herself, because she wanted to drive around Malta Comino Gozo's Coastal Road. The Coastal Road takes you around the entire island, which has many outstanding views of the shoreline, hills, and the sea. Delia picked up a small car and enjoyed the drive around Coastal Road. She drove around the town of Tas-Faqqani, through the shade of a tree-lined promenade next to the beach and arrived at Swatar Bay resort. She stopped in Swatar Bay, another resort with many businesses and a great beach. She stopped in a café in Swatar Bay, ordered a takeaway coffee to fix her daily coffee needs, and then drank it while taking in breathtaking views on a stroll on Swatar Bay Beach. After, she hopped back in her car and drove more of the Coastal Road and ended up at the Malta Comino Gozo Channel, which is a channel separating Malta and Gozo, which is only a mile wide in some parts. She drove over the Simmar Bridge, which is a multilevel bridge for both cars and trains spanning across the Channel and looked to both sides down the channel and was again in shock at the unbelievable coastlines, bays, coves, and forests within Malta Comino Gozo. Closer to the end of the day, Delia returned her rental car to the auto dealers, and went back to the hotel room for the night.

Lyrics & Staging

The stage is still without light as the music begins, and an edited background vocal sings "You don't love me". While this opening starts, Delia Kísjvor makes her way to the centre of the stage.

(You don't love me)

The lights reveal where she is standing as soon as the first line begins to be sung by her. It reveals her wearing a white shirt, with a short skirt. She appears to have spent a long time with her eyeliner and makeup, as well. The beat of the tune makes the lights in the arena slightly pulsate.

First it was love then it turned to survival
You came and took my things and now you’re gone
Your actions told you so, yeah
Love's a common mistake that’s no longer fun

Yeah, we started, we started, then we parted
We were in the centre of something beautiful
I was a prisoner in your influence, yeah
Banging my head against a wall

The lights in the arena brighten to a whole maximum, and the screen at the back of arena, which is behind Delia, shows something similar to this being played, but at twice the speed of that video. It is meant to represent someone smashing and dropping their flowers on the floor after ending a bad relationship.

You don’t love me
When I left I never felt so free
You don’t love me
You’re fine, now you’re on your knees
You don’t love me
What must it take to be?
You don’t love me
I’m better than the weather, the weather, the weather, undoubtedly

The lights dim slightly for these two verses, and the background of the flower video is turned into just a blank screen again.

You took advantage of me, then took the lead
It struck you after one night, yeah
You created agony when you were with me
Covering up your crimes in my head

You torn me apart and I was livid
Underlying memories of me and you
I’m still in fear of love, where you left it
I’m trying to forget it and start anew

The video of the flowers, which is meant to be twice to speed of the original clip, plays again, with the lights becoming brighter for the chorus and pulsating to the beat/tune of the song, like the first time.

You don’t love me
When I left I never felt so free
You don’t love me
You’re fine, now you’re on your knees
You don’t love me
What must it take to be?
You don’t love me
I’m better than the weather, the weather, the weather, undoubtedly

While the two edited background vocals sing "You don't love me", Delia smiles at the crowd and starts walking around the stage with the microphone in her hand, which will be kept in her hand when she sings the last chorus. The background with the flowers continues to play during the small interval in the song.

(You don't love me)

The final chorus is sung, and Delia makes sure to sing this chorus with the most passion, as it concludes the song. Like the other choruses, the flower background plays, but this time the lights are kept very bright in this chorus, and Delia walks around stage. In approximately the first half of the chorus, she is on the left side of the stage (which would be her right). In around the middle of the chorus, where she sings "You're fine, now you're on your knees", she walks onto the right side of the stage, and smiles at a person in the audience.

You don’t love me
When I left I never felt so free
You don’t love me
You’re fine, now you’re on your knees
You don’t love me
What must it take to be?
You don’t love me
I’m better than the weather, the weather, the weather, undoubtedly

After the "undoubtedly" is sung, Delia has her eyes shut for a brief three seconds in relief that she had completed her performance after numerous rehearsals with lots of trial and error. After she opens her eyes, She lets out a large "TAKÞE!!!!", which is the Aenglic way of saying "Thank You". She waves to the audience and says "Thank you, Valletta!!!"

by **Nightom** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 5:38 pm

#08 NIGHTOM
NESTER ft Walter Karlsson - "Vengeance"
Tune : THE HARDKISS feat. MONATIK - "Кобра"
Music: NESTER // Lyrics: NESTER

NESTER + Walter Karlsson: Relatively known Walter Karlsson will be working with Britonish-Nightomese duo NESTER on the song "Vengeance"...

Nightom returns to the WorldVision Song Contest after a 10-edition hiatus and they're back with a "Vengeance" with NESTER ft Walter Karlsson, hoping for one of Nightom's best results to date...

With the Nightomitons participating in every edition ending with "5" since its debut, it was lined up to participate at the 95th WorldVision Song Contest which would've marked 50 editions since the nation first debuted at the competition. However, Nightom pulled out of the contest after citing that they weren't ready to participate in the contest. Nightom's last entry was 10 editions ago at the 86th WorldVision Song Contest in Antahbrantashtan, and the nation did not do well at all, finishing in the bottom six with 62 points in total. This came off the back of Nightom's sixth place finish at the 85th WorldVision Song Contest as the nation scored a total of 186 points which, at the time, was ABEN's second-largest total since the introduction of the televote and jury split. Other than those two entries, Nightom has been very quiet on the international song contest front until the 86th WorldVision Song Contest here in Malta Comino Gozo, with KVC - the broadcaster for Nightom at the Contest - confirming that the nation would participate and return with its ABEN partner. Nightom has already won the WorldVision Song Contest and also placed 6th, so the nation does know how to place well and is hoping that the 96th WorldVision Song Contest will add to their very small collection, so far, of top ten finishes. They're it will come in the form of the collaboration between NESTER and Walter Karlsson who singing the song "Vengeance".

Walter Karlsson is a 24-year-old singer who has both Nightomese and Kalmarlundian heritage - quite common for someone from Knightingham, the capital of the country which is nearer to the East of Novapax than the West. Walter had been confirmed as the Nightomese representative for some time now, but it was thought that he would represent the country without the assistance of anyone else. Walter's main music style is pop, but for the upcoming entry "Vengeance", he will be trying a new genre - alternative (pop) rock. He will be working with the band NESTER, a Britonish-Nightomese duo made up of Mike (32) and Nicola (28). It is rumoured that NESTER was in talks with Britonish broadcaster BITC and representing the country, but BITC's participation made NESTER pull out of representing Britonisea. Instead, they worked with the Nightomiton to create a new revamped version that the Nightomese broadcaster couldn't refuse. As the three prepared to go to Malta Comino Gozo, it was more about how the song would be staged as they thought that a song like the one they were sending needed really good staging. For weeks, they all planned together what they wanted - and knew that pyrotechnics would be at the forefront of the performance, especially near the end.

Nightom was to perform 8th in the WorldVision Song Contest 96 after Aenglide and during entry seven, Walter started meditating and praying that his performance would go as swimmingly as he wanted it to go. He knew that he had a lot of pressure on him. Walter was already known as a singer in Nightom before the WorldVision Song Contest and so knew that his career very much depended on how he did here. He was hopeful that he could get himself into the top 10 but due to the recent competitive nature of the song contest, it would be very difficult for Nightom to get there. His lowest goal was to reach the left-hand side of the scoreboard which would be welcomed by KVC still shocked that World Hit Festival qualifier, Charlie Brookes, flopped at the 86th WorldVision Song Contest. Either way, as most nations should, they went in there with the mindset of a win. As it was time to grace the stage. Nicola would be singing most of the song with Walter coming midway through. Low-flying fog filled the stage, along with a red hue from the lights making the scenery seem sinister and mysterious. The performance started on the walkway towards the main stage, with Nicola slowly walking towards the main stage, captured by a steadicam which was moving backwards as Nicola walked closer. There was some intense eye contact from the NESTER singer. She was wearing this lose dark 2 piece outfit, with a leather jacket that she simply chucked over her shoulders.

Silence, haunting.
What’s lurking ‘round the corner?
You know it's coming,
The wrath of my corrupt soul.
Heed this warning and take your chance;
Run.

The flames growing,
Ignited by my burning zeal for your ruin,
To leave this would be a sin.
Make one wrong step, I’ll be waiting.
Strike.

Nicola sang the first verse in a whisper and as said the word "run", she smirked before quickly pacing away from the camera which pivoted on itself to watch her walking onto the stage. As she got to the main stage, the audience started cheering. The stage lit up as they captured her walking in. When singing, "The flames growing", she raised her hands up to the sky, with the pyros around her following her movements, depending on how high or low she moved her hands. Deep reds and oranges were most present on the stage as the wide range of shots, cutting on every other beat or so made the performance alluring to watch. As she sang the final lyric of the verse, "strike" - she did a bow gesture with her hand and let go, with the camera quickly tracking outwards before we cut to the next part of the entry.

I will come thundering down with a vengeance.
Nothing will be left of you but memories-
Your screams of terror - the sweetest melody,
With no way out of this, will you repent?

There was a little area where Mike from NESTER was standing, with the man jamming out with some serious headbanging during the chorus. On the stage, the LEDs were going manic with different distorted pictures being flashed up on the screens, switching every few seconds. The camera, sometimes, would focus on what is happening with the LEDs, before zooming out or tilting out to show us Nicola who would be looking right back at the cameras. As we moved from the chorus into the next verse, a figure who was facing his back to the audience, turned around and started walking to the front of the stage, with members of the audience realising that it was Walter who appeared on the stage. The audience screamed after him as a smirk of readiness was plastered on his face.

Lights on, lights off
You can’t see me, but I’m here.
Above you, below - I will follow where you go.
I’m in plain sight, you’re never alone.

Walter was wearing dark colours as well, a dark denim number with a white t-shirt underneath. His denim shirt was opened exposing the contrasting fresh white t-shirt he was wearing. As he sang the lyric, "Lights on, lights off", the lights in the arena quickly switched off, with a single light appearing over his eyes. The camera was focused on his blue eyes alone as he sang the next line. He winked after saying "I'm here", with the camera slightly zooming out to view Walter's torso as well. The cuts of the cameras reacted with what he said with an aerial shot of the man as he said "Above you," with Walter capturing the shot with his eyes, before moving back down to the camera which passed on a track around the stage. Walter slightly bent his knees as he sang the lyric "I will follow where you go," before quickly standing up to say the final line as Nicola rested her hand on his shoulder.

I will come thundering down with a vengeance.
Nothing will be left of you but memories-
Your screams of terror - the sweetest melody,
With no way out of this, will you repent?

Yet another chorus rolled around, with lasers and whatnot crazily flashing around the stage as Nicola and Walter looked at each other with competition in their eyes, looking as though they were having a singing battle with one another. The backing LED was similar to the previous chorus with the distorted images in the background which changed alongside the strong beat you could hear in the song. The bridge of the song, the longest bit, came up, with the crazy atmosphere suddenly becoming rather subdued as an orange circle appeared below them as they were bathed in a similarly coloured light.

I’ll..
follow you, follow you, follow until I hunt you down. You…
Don’t stand a chance, you stand no chance but don’t stand down.
Hide… Tease me, tease me, make the find more rewarding, oh.
Look at you, I see your shadow, come out.
Follow my gaze, follow my gaze - now you are entranced - ah.
Closer and closer, come closer and closer, oh
Don’t make a sound, be silent, come closer.
Let me sink my teeth into this reward...
Surrender now!

The pair of them were moving around each other, inspecting each other as though this was the first time they had seen a human before. In what was a call and response, Walter and Nicola would sing after one another, with the camera being more focused on the person singing, tracking their movements as they moved in and out of each other - in slow motion. As we moved into the crazy bit before the next chorus - tens of pyros, lasers and strobe effects shot into the air - with cameras with higher frame rates picked to capture this moment to make it seem as though more was happening on the stage.

Never again will I be taken advantage of,
You’ve got to pay.
You’ll never...forget me, no.
I will come thundering down with a vengeance.
Nothing will be left of you but memories-
Your screams of terror - the sweetest melody,
With no way out of this, will you repent?

At the end of the song, Nicola and Walter held positions and looked at each other with stern faces as the camera slowly zoomed in on them. Then the sound of the audience came in, with both of them eventually breaking character. "Thank you so much!" Walter shouted before Nicola blew a kiss to the audience.

by **Scotatrova** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 5:45 pm

9. Scotatrova
Susana Taxos
Avantí
Tune: Ava Max - My Head & My Heart

As the postcard ends, Susana and four backup dancers, two male and two female, can be seen on stage. Susana stands in the middle of the four as they form a diamond around her. Susana wears black leather pants accompanied by a red t-shirt. The male backup dancers on the other hand are shirtless and covered in glitter, wearing only white pants and shoes. The female dancers as well have glitter, while also wearing the same white pants as the men, but with white crop tops. When the music begins to play, all the lights that surround the LED screen start panning down and slowly position themselves as Susana, who brings the microphone up to sing.

It hasn’t been long
I think about you all the time ever since then
And then I wonder if it’s a good idea
But I remembered you said to be confident, oh yeah

It’s got to be p-p-perfect or not at all
It’s like I don’t know how
I can’t contain it anymore, it has to be let out now
Avam avantí, tú ía ie xari
Ei la verth, othzeme, lúo emeri, yeah
Retov iunx ai leo mur athór gomego
Avam avantí, comon axo ási

Let’s go forward, you and me baby
It’s the truth, listen to me, you’ll love it, yeah
I was next to him, but now with you
Let’s go forward, just like this

Susana lifts her chin up forward as she starts singing, looking at the camera closest to her as it pans from right to left. The dancers meanwhile keep their stance, with the men having their hands behind their back and the women with their hands on their hips. Orange and blue light start to permeate throughout the arena and on the stage as the song progresses. For the first verse, Susana stays within the diamond formed by the performers. She keeps her space and doesn't move much, only slightly moving to the beat while the song continues. As she starts singing the second verse, the lights that shined down on them start moving away and as a result, so do the performers. Each of them walk slowly away from Susana just as the chorus begins. Susana and the dancers all start dancing choreography together, with all of them in the shape of a W on stage.

Say it isn’t so
It was smooth as a river’s rushing ebb and flow
The cheeks on my face are as red as my nauton*
Now we’re out of control

It’s got to be p-p-perfect or not at all
It’s like I don’t know how
I can’t contain it anymore, it has to be let out now
Avam avantí, tú ía ie xari
Ei la verth, othzeme, lúo emeri, yeah
Retov iunx ai leo mur athór gomego
Avam avantí, comon axo ási

Let’s go forward, you and me baby
It’s the truth, listen to me, you’ll love it, yeah
I was next to him, but now with you
Let’s go forward, just like this

*Nauton is the Scotatrovian term for "butt"

Each of the dancers break off into pairs, one of which moves to the walkway off to the right of the stage and the other pair on the left. Susana stays center stage as she watches the pairs diverge. An overhead view shows everyone during the performance, and then each of the dancers starts to sensually dance with one another. They move their hands all along each other's bodies, getting close before pulling away and then doing some variation of it over again. While Susana sings the line "It was smooth as a river’s rushing ebb and flow" she moves her lower torso in a wave motion, smiling and winking at the camera. As she sings the following stanza, she motions to the cheeks on her face and then covers her mouth with a faux surprised look on her face. The chorus starts up again as the lights around the stage all start flashing and the dancers start making their way back to the main platform.

Here laying under you now
Running out of breath anyhow
Just as I pictured it too
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh
Let’s go again

Avam avantí, tú ía ie xari
Ei la verth, othzeme, lúo emeri, yeah
Retov iunx ai leo mur athór gomego
Avam avantí, comon axo ási

Let’s go forward, you and me baby
It’s the truth, listen to me, you’ll love it, yeah
I was next to him, but now with you
Let’s go forward, just like this

While Susana starts singing the bridge, all of the dancers start to surround her. They continue to dance as they did earlier, but this time they incorporate Susana into the routine. One male and female dancer start dancing on their own while the other two start running their hands all over Susana. The male dancer leans his face towards Susana and lingers around her neck before slowly pulling away. The female dancer does the same thing while Susana keeps her focus on the performance. As the camera pans in during this, Susana looks at it and flashes it a quick smile. With the final chorus beginning, the dancers back away from Susana and all of them continue the choreography they were doing in the beginning. The song then ends with all of them posing next to each other. They all give each other hugs as they start to make their way off stage while Susana waves out to the audience. "Thank you!!"

by **Placely Placington** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:12 pm

10 - Placely Placington (#PPT)

Television Director - Placely Country Song

Tune: John Trubee - Peace and Love

Dave McDaverson was in a bit of a tough spot at the moment. He had been warned again for sending another Lovecraftian horror to the contest and he had unintentionally ruined a potential trade deal with Zamboodle by simply being, well, Dave McDaverson. And sure E Oe were probably going to appear on the Vha Mehlodhivestoile, despite the fact that no one from Placely Plactington actually knows how to spell it in the first place, but there was the matter of what to do with them if their song gets rejected. Sure enough, he decided to call a meeting even though only Television Director and the Health Minister showed up. Hopefully he'll be able to get some help from them.

'I still don't understand how we couldn't get that trade deal done with Zamboodle.' Dave said, still confused.

'I think it was because you said to their leader "Thank you, my-".' Television Director replied, trying to explain the situation before he got interrupted. And for a good reason.

'Anyway, I think it's time to figure out what we're doing for WorldVision 96. And I'm open to ideas. Let's hear them!'

'We could do a song about how I should meet as many people as possible.' The Health Minister said, albeit with a tone of voice that kind of hinted that he knew his time was running short.

'I don't understand why you want people to meet you but aren't you forgetting that I'm the centre of attention here.'

'We could send E Oe to the contest.' Television Director chimed in. 'Get a little bit of hype going.'

'There'll be a conflict of interest if they end up making it in.'

It was like that for a few hours, with Wynan Schitt even being considered because he was in Valletta at some point, before eventually they all gave up and Dave decided to write a song in the most pro-country genre ever, at least in his opinion. Country music. It's there in the name, after all. Of course, Television Director had to step in to remind Dave that a) he didn't have to write about physically and romantically loving the country and b) that it still has to be about the actual country and not essentially a massive tribute to himself. Of course Dave did kind of forget about the second one and Television Director couldn't get him back on course lest he meets a button-related fate but he did do just enough to steer him on the right track.

As a result, Television Director was made to sing the entry. After all, it was the least that Dave McDaverson could do even though Television Director didn't actually want the job. But hey, free vacation. With Drummer Clone in tow, the two jetted off to Valletta and had a time there. Of course, it lead to an embarrassing incident where Drummer Clone somehow got eaten by a venus fly trap (a normal one, no Audrey II-sized one or one on legs like you'd find back in Placely Placington) but he got better. Eventually, it was time to perform. Will they end up getting a decent result? We all know what the answer will be so let's just get the suffering over with.

Postcard ends. Television Director at the front, Drummer Clone at the back. Test Subjects somehow showed up to play other instruments. Song starts. Nothing particularly interesting, really. Although there was a backdrop of an animated JPEG of the Placely Placingtonian flag waving on the big display behind them, as well a couple of firework GIFs going off, the kind that'd seem outdated even by GeoCities' standards. You'd expect them to appear on Television Director's monitor but that has to be switched off at all times lest he suffers from a fatal migraine. Meanwhile they were all dressed as stereotypical cowboys and Television Director was disinterestedly strumming his guitar while he sang.

I come from a place, it's a Placely Place
It's Placely Placington, there's tons of space
All hail Dave McD because he's the best
And he doesn't smoke crack no, no, no

And then came the chorus. As Television Director carried on singing the praises of Dave McDaverson, despite his tone of voice being incredibly obvious that he has no real interest in performing this song, the audience started to show their displeasure of this massive ego grandstanding. Fortunately, they merely yawned or fell asleep at this point and they weren't mad at Television Director. Just as long as he didn't kill them like what happened earlier.

Dave McDaverson wrote this old Placely country song
A good old Placely country song
Dave McD wrote this perfect Placely country song
A Placely country song

As Television Director sang the next verse, the camera quickly cut over to a Test Subject playing a steel guitar. It couldn't afford the tube or finger plectrums so it had to use a tin can and its fingers. Too bad that, being a Test Subject, it somehow turned its fingers into hot dog slices and then its hand and arm into sashimi. There was also a shot of the audience, who were still bored with this. One poor sap even checked his watch to see when it'll be over. Soon, hopefully.

Dave McD is the best man to run this Placely place
And if you disagree with him he'll drop pianos on your face
That won't be good, no, no, no

The song carried on to the last verse. Television Director kept strumming his guitar as he carried on singing. The flag backdrop with the Placely Placingtonian flag faded into a still image while some text started to flash on it a la Windows Movie Maker. It simply said "vote for Placely Placington plz give ponts^[sic] and money". Real subtle, Dave. Towards the end of the verse, Television Director turned his head to the side and muttered to himself, although it ended up being caught by the microphone.

And Placely backed with Placington is a good place
Lead by the best person ever to rule the country
Placely Placington welcomes y'all
But stop calling it "Placey"
Why did Dave write this?

Naturally, we reach the chorus/outro. As Television Director sang, Drummer Clone started to catch on fire and eventually melted into a small puddle that immediately soaked into the seat. The Test Subject playing the steel guitar managed to slice itself up. And an eagle flew into the arena and picked up the piano the other Test Subject was playing. The bird screeched at it before it flew straight up into the air and broke through the arena roof, wherepon it dropped the piano onto said Test Subject.

Dave McDaverson wrote this Placely country song
Dave McDaverson wrote this Placely country song
Wrote this Placely country song
Wrote this Placely country song

When the song eventually came to an end, there was one solitary clap. Literally, only one person clapped and it was a single clap. Television Director said "Thank you." before he started to walk off the stage. No doubt that the stagehands would have to work hard to clean up the stage to have it ready in time for Waisnor's entry. And also escort Television Director to the dump because just as he stepped off stage, he let out a loud "FULAM!" before straightening himself out and falling to the floor like a statue, completely dead as well. You could tell because his screen smashed. Probably wasn't a good idea to say that bit loud enough for Dave McDaverson to listen. Oh well, let's bring on the next entry.

by **Waisnor** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 8:14 pm

11

WAISNOR

Katarzyna Bednarek - V etom mire/Tune: Alexia - Pentru tine

Firstly, few word about the singer - Katarzyna is the first Waisnorian representative in Worldvision Song Contest coming from a Polish origin (Waisnor has quite a few of them, since territories of Waisnor were occupied by Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 16th to 18th century, plus a little period from 1918 to 1939 when Waisnorian territories were included in Republic of Poland ~~which I'm not really sure exicted since Carrelie has basically all of Poland~~).
Katarzyna is also one of the first Polish stars of Waisnorian scene, gaining quite a few fans after releasing her first singles and winning national selection to Worldvision.

Now, let's go to the performance - Katarzyna stood in the center of the stage in a simple white dress, and a thin white line appeared on the stage itself, along which Bednarek began to walk, pretending to balance. Meanwhile, in the background, video of the life of the city appeared in time-lapse, so that it was impossible to distinguish individual faces.

Я даже не знала, что мне
I didn't even know that I

Придётся пройти сквозь эти муки
Have to go through this pain

Я будто застряла на дне
It's like I'm stuck at the bottom

И тщетны все мои потуги
And all my efforts are in vain

After that, the line turned into a sound wave that displayed the song as it was being sung. Also, a rather large circle appeared on the stage, with a diameter of the entire stage, consisting of 6 equal parts, but only one part was visible. They lit up in turn, something like a loading image on a computer.

И сердце моё всё в крови
And my heart is covered in blood

И раны не заживают
And the wounds don't heal

Живу без тепла, без любви
I live without warmth, without love

Боль от меня не отступает
The pain won't leave me

When the chorus began, everything disappeared from the stage and from the background, except for the circle, or rather, one part of it, which, again going clockwise, was gradually approaching Katarzyna. Bednarek remained standing within the shrinking circle. The light was focused on her, but it was not very strong.

В этом мире не могу найти себе место, где скрыться
In this world I can't find a place to hide

От печали, страха, боли, за мечту хочу уцепиться
From sadness, fear, pain, I want to cling to a dream

О радости я молю, отчаянно в мрак кричу
I pray for joy, I scream desperately into the darkness

В этом мире я хочу от своих оков освободиться
In this world I want to free myself from my chains

Repeating "free myself", Katarzyna began to perform a rather energetic dance. The circle disappeared from the scene, and the light became much brighter and scattered over the entire scene, so that everyone can see the singer and watch her preformance in all its glory. In the background, meanwhile, urban scenes began to be shown again. However, this time the faces of individuals could be clearly distinguished.

Не знаю, кто сможет помочь
I don't know who can help

Мне справиться с этим недугом
I can deal with this disease

Хочу я свой тлен превозмочь
I want to overcome my decay

Иду навстречу ливням и вьюгам
I go towards the showers and blizzards

When Bednarek began to sing this verse, the light gradually became less and less bright and again focused on the singer. Now other shots of the city appeared in the background - on them Katarzyna, standing with her back to the camera and the audience, looks at the city, and around her people began to move again in fast motion, while Bednarek herself was at normal speed. However, this was not particularly visible, as she stood, almost not moving.

Но сердце моё всё в крови
But my heart is all in the blood

И раны не заживают
And the wounds don't heal

Ещё без тепла, без любви
Still without warmth, without love

Боль от меня не отступает
The pain won't leave me

While this verse was being played, the people in the background began to walk in slow motion very abruptly. Meanwhile, a square appeared on the stage, in which a grid was drawn, dividing it into several smaller squares, thus creating the outline of a cage from above, and in the center of this square stood Bednarek. Like the circle before the first chorus, the square began to shrink.

В этом мире не могу найти себе место, где скрыться
In this world I can't find a place to hide

От печали, страха, боли, за мечту хочу уцепиться
From sadness, fear, pain, I want to cling to a dream

О радости я молю, отчаянно в мрак кричу
I pray for joy, I scream desperately into the darkness

В этом мире я хочу от своих оков освободиться
In this world I want to free myself from my chains

After the last chorus, Bednarek began to dance an energetic dance again, and in the background both people and Katarzyna began to walk at normal speed, and Bednarek went to the people and seemed to exchange a couple of phrases with one passerby. When Katarzyna's performance ended, she walked to the front of the stage, blew a kiss to the audience and said "Thank you! Greetings from Waisnor! I love you!"

by **Adab** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 9:59 pm

12. ADAB
Farah Khaled – "So Alive”
Tune: Sinéad O'Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U
Language: English

Farah Khaled

Background
That Adab’s WorldVision 95 entry, “Someone to Love” by Inanna Shipak, finished 20th out of 27 competing nations did not seem to faze ABC Director-General Benji Akiya, who pointed out at the satisfactory viewing figures for the event on Adabian television and increased sales of Inanna’s music as a reason for Adab’s continued participation in the event. A brief bout with influenza led Benji to contemplate, for the first time since assuming the post, stepping down as Director-General to pursue other interests, but eventually he decided to continue.

As usual, Benji personally picked Adab’s entrant for the next WorldVision event, although this time he also consulted members of the ABC Board and other ABC staff. One board member suggested the 30-year-old Farah Khaled, a balladeer of some standing in the country with a powerful, haunting voice. Listening to some of Farah’s songs on MyTube, Benji agreed that she would be a good choice for WorldVision and got in touch with her, persuading her to participate in the event after assuring her that she could perform her latest song on the WV stage, a rather bleak composition called “So Alive”, which she wrote following the early passing of an old friend.

The Performance
Farah Khaled made her entry onto the stage at the FedEx Forum with a solemnity which hinted at the general feel of the performance. For those who had listened to the song before, it was clear that a performance which relied heavily on stage effects would not suit this song; Farah’s voice would be the main force carrying the performance from start to end. Above her the pipework was divided into bleak black and bright white, protruding outwards towards the audience. The spotlights were an even brighter white, allowing Farah and her all-black gown to stand out amid the darkness. The floor was black except for the LED panels which were thick lines of white. As she started singing, Farah walked down to the end of the catwalk where it divided into two pathways to her left and right. Behind her the LED screens showed the black-and-white face of a young man, his eyes closed, superimposed over an entirely dark background.

It’s been so long since I last saw you here
Since you went away from here
Your face I can see, your touch I can feel
It’s like you’re still here for real

Her powerful voice echoed across the Forum as members of the crowd, including a sizable number of Adabian fans, got their phones out and raised them towards Farah, producing smatterings of spots of light in the general darkness. The spotlights gradually transformed from white to a bright brown color, eventually enveloping the venue in a warm sepia tone. Behind her the black-and-white face faded off the screens, to be replaced by a montage of pictures – presumably of the same man – moving slowly from left to right, gradually showing his progression from a baby to a teenager to an adult. Many of the pictures showed him taking part in daily activities, such as going to school and playing guitar and hanging out with his friends.

Now that you’re gone I am left with nothing but your
Your pictures and your little scrapbook
With every passing year, you’re drifting further away
But when I look
I feel you close to me, like you’re here today

And I can see you
More alive than ever

Farah turned to her right and started walking down the path of the catwalk, a spotlight following her from above, turning almost in a complete circle as she brought herself closer to the crowd. From time to time she would turn her head and extend her hand at the crowd. Under her the stage floor began to follow the spotlights’ lead, gradually changing colors until the entire floor was bathed in a bright, brilliant light brown which fit in nicely with the overall sepia feel of the venue. The montage suddenly stopped, cutting to a picture of the man, lying on a hospital bed with a smile as he looked straight at the photographer, dominating the entire screen. As Farah reached the farthest end of the catwalk and gazed at the larger section of the audience in front of her, the screens changed to show more pictures of the man in hospital, smiling in some, giving a thumbs-up in one, being surrounded by friends in another, gradually losing his weight and his hair. Eventually the last picture simply faded away into black, leaving the screens empty.

Though you’re gone, know I still think of you
Oh, just how fragile life is
Even the dead once lived and loved just like us
If only there’s a way to spare you the pain

Some of us live long, some of us go far too soon
Behind the drab hospital curtains
One day you’re still smiling, then you’re wasting away
Skin to the bones
But no one’s ever truly gone as long as they’re still remembered
You’re never gone

And I can see you
More alive than ever

After a brief moment of nothingness, the screens started showing what appeared to be a home video featuring the man in happier times, relaxing and watching television, playing with his dog, and having barbecue with friends in the backyard. The video continued playing until the conclusion of the song, upon which it almost immediately switched off, once leaving the screens empty.

All the great dreams that you told me, my love, I remember
Everything you’d told me
If only you’re here it would’ve been so much better
But for you, you know that I will carry on

I can see you
More alive than ever
I can see you
More alive than ever
I can see you
More alive than ever

At the end of the performance, the spotlights faded, along the way turning again to white like at the beginning. The bright brown retreated from the stage, leaving it in black except for the LED panels on the stage floor which were once again white. As the audience cheered and applauded her performance, Farah bowed at them, saying “Thank you” before turning her back on them and making for the exit, shrouded in darkness with the spotlights now switched off.

by **Zamboodle** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 11:02 pm

13. ZAMBOODLE
DD BUTAE - CHROME BUTT SURGERY

-

Time to end the hiatus.

-

Days go by and yo weave just gets thinner!
Your edges are all but snatched!
Don't talk sh*t when your head's so big and shiny!
I could fry an egg on that scalp.

The song begins with Zamboodlese soldiers skating out on futuristic rollerblades thrusting in the air as the beat progressed forward. They dragged a bloodied-up fursona costume across the stage while waving AK-47's in the air. The techno synthesizer kicked in as double-d butay glided in from a chair-lift, with only a chrome bra and skin-tight chrome wrapping around her hips on. When she touched the ground, she began singing. The spotlight immediately shone on her as a panorama of Kumswalo adjoined her. She began to roll in between the groups of soldiers thrusting with AK's, headed towards the front of the stage.

Meanwhile, meanwhile! In my Zamboodle-
We just cured sheet-blood for now---!
Meanwhile, meanwhile! While your face has acne,
I just got chrome butt surgery!

When at the edge of the stage, DD reveals her long acrylic nails, tapping at her gem-studded teeth with them. When she was done flexing, she rolled back to her chair lift, powerfully ending the verse as she was lifted into the air for the instrumental. She rips the wrapping off to reveal a metallic butt a-la-spongebob "iron buns". The crowd oohs and ahhs as the background Zamboodle soldiers parade the empty fursuit on the stage. Chrome robots roll onto stage holding golden AK-47's, and they fire bursts of confetti into the air, sparkling monochrome.

The soldiers intermingle with the robots to form a mosaic resembling the Zamboodlese flag, getting them ready for the next verse.

Supa futar chrome butt sur-joo-ray!

Days go by and yo chest just gets flatter!
Eat some hamburgers already!
But you chose to be vegan and ugly.
Just like someone from Britonisea!

DD glides back down on the opposite end of the stage she was dropped off. Her robots catch her and sing with her in harmony. The soldiers crouch in front of them, forming a human ocean wave effect as the robots cascaded DD to the front of the stage again.

La la lai, lai lai lai la lai la la- you're not as pretty as me---!
While you're out there losing WorldVision,
I just got... chrome butt surgery!

DD then is set down and twerks with her chrome assets on the fursuit, the soldiers wrapping her back in the Zamboodlese flag in a show of pride. She jumps back to a forward position and waves off the crowd in the ending note. As the instrumental plays them off, the militiamen goosestep with the flag and AK's in a parade style, dragging the fursuit away. The robots pick DD up and roller-skate cascade in the opposite direction. All that's left on the stage is a suspicious brown and red stain.

by **Aenglide** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 11:11 pm

Introduction

Hello! Welcome and thank you for tuning into ÆTV English for the English Song Commentary. My name is Bengt Dolá and you can find more about me by going to my website ~~discountgrahamnorton.com~~. *AHEM* I meant to say bengtdola.com. If you want to find Aenglic commentary, please tune into ÆTV 1.

Anyways, we have found ourselves tonight in Malta Comino Gozo, in their capital city of Valletta. It's their third time hosting the contest, and as they all say, third time is a lucky charm. Do they actually say that? I'm not sure. Anyway, we're currently looking at the FedEx Forum Arena in Valletta, and my oh my - what a stage this one is. We have our hosts Brooke Galea and Tom Gabe. Brooke Galea has been a representative in Worldvision once, funnily enough. Or really, it isn't that funny. I don't remember why I called it funny.

"LET THE 96th WORLDVISION SONG CONTEST BEGIN!"
The great way to start the show. Although, they should be thankful it's only the 96th contest. The mouthful it's gonna be to say when the 777th edition of Worldvision comes by. If it comes to be, that is. One can only dream.

Songs

1. CARRELIE
Our night begins with Carrelie, first to go! Here's "Let It Be" by Marien Lochnette!

...

Something thats quite nice to listen to, to start us off tonight. The song may be overshadowed by songs later in the contest, but for now, this song gets my approval!

2. IQQ NORTHWEST BIR TAWIL HALAIB TRIANGLES
Well, the name of this country here isn't going to do us any good, is it? Thank heavens almighty they have a shortened name.

...

And then we have this atrocious one next. He just shouted "Lose", and now he's throwing concrete blocks onto people. What the hell. If this gets points, which it most likely will, I will need to have a large consultation to said juries.

3. STRAYAROOS
In my fifty-five years of living in this world, I can’t say I’ve heard a song about Sharks, except for baby songs about sharks that my grandson listens to. (He’s referring to Baby Shark) Well, good luck to Sajuna from StrayaRoos.

…

Well, something terrible has clearly happened down under because that was very morbid, wasn’t it! I love the classic rock feel to it, but you can’t help but question the lyrics, which talks about a dead shark that got harpooned! Poor thing!

4. IZMEDU
This is Letenje and Kara's "Your Heart", who is representing Izmedu!

...

Quite a nice song, not going to lie. What a lovely voice she has - and I'd say that this sounds very cinematic, until the big impulses which seem okay to me. I don't know if it makes the song better or ruins the beautiful singing. Good entry though, Izmedu!

5. POLKOPIA
This is Polkopia next, with Poli Vera's song "November".

...

Alright, I was about to base this entry by the first seconds alone, but then we were given a nice beat along with it. That wasn't a bad entry at all. Nice job Polkopia.

6. KALOSIA
Alright, and this entry is from Kalosia, which is Lësusetë's "Go On". I'm hoping I said that correctly.

Ooh, that's quite a nice, light and easy rock song from Kalosia. Sounds quite right at home from here in Aenglide. I really like that song so good luck to Kalosia!

7. AENGLIDE
And nowits us! Delia Kísjvor’s song “You Don’t Love Me!” We’re hoping for a great night tonight. Some of us have our fingers crossed. Some of us don’t! But regardless, we are still supporting the country.

…

I would like to admit that pop music isn’t really to my best liking, I’m an old fella, 60s, 70s, 80s, that’s all I really like. But, I do have to say that the song had nice lyrics and is well written, and that says a lot considering I also dislike over-romantic songs. Or well, this one was more of an unromantic song. The fact that I like this may just be my biased self coming in to play though.

8. NIGHTOM
After us is Nightom, with Walter Karlsson's song "Love Under Pressure"!

...

It's alright. Walter is a good singer, and the melody of the song is nice, but I predict a weak entry in comparison to other entries tonight.

9. SCOTATROVA
Alright we have Scotatrova and on the stage is Susana Taxes with her song "Avantí".

...

A pretty catchy song I must admit. This is says a lot because I'll remind you - I'm not immersed in the current music age yet. I know, how terribly uncultured I am. Anyway, enough about me going on that and more about me telling Scotatrova that they should have a great end to the night tonight!

10. PLACELY PLACINGTON
Oh great, a song that is named after the country itself. Not that this is a common occurrence but when it is, we know its something terrible.

...

The drugs required to do to be able to write something as awful as that... Not only repetitive but also crack jokes! Awesome.

11. WAISNOR
Alright, we have Waisnor with the song "V etom mire" by... Wow, I don't think I'm going to be able to pronounce that. It's that person that you will now see on screen.

...

Well. Another pop song tonight. Nothing bad about them - I just wonder how many we're gonna have tonight. I think I nearly dozed off near to the end of that performance. Well, you know the drill. Probably gonna do well, even if it isn't my liking.

12. ADAB
We're now in for Farah Khaled and her song "So Alive", who will be representing Adab!

...

Adab's song is quite calm, and they have sent a great singer, but like with the other songs like these, I don't think that Adab will be up to their expectations tonight. Especially after their recent great scores around Worldvision.

13. ZAMBOODLE
Zamboodle - A country that sounds more like an onomatopoeia than an actual country. With a title named "Chrome Butt Surgery", you're in for a real treat.

...

The tune is upbeat and seems friendly enough... Only to realise that what you're listening to is someone insulting you for having acne and other facial problems, while they've had chrome butt surgery. The staging is on another bloody level. If you like robots with guns, this performance is right in your alley. Worldvision is a bloody interesting show to say the least.

14. PEMECUTAN
Alright this is Pemecutan, with the song "Sisa Hidupku" by Gek Ira.

...

Wow. Outstanding, calm song, and I love how the Pemecutan Malay language sounds. After looking at the translation, the lyrics are great and touching. It makes me think - we should send something in Aenglic again. Preferably the new version.

15. BEEPEE
Alright, Beepee's performance. Was this country named after someone honking their car horn? I'm just curious. This is Justin Annomore's song "After All".

...

Oh my! I am sorry for making fun of you there, Beepee! Lovely lyrics, calming song, great singer. Absolutely splendid! Great job to you.

16. BELGAAM
And here is Belgaam, with... - I won't try and pronounce this one either, sorry. But you'll see her name on screen with "You Wish"!

...

Another modern pop song. Not a bad thing, but the thought is that we've probably already lost count of how many there are - and may I remind everyone that there will most likely be more coming. Sorry Belgaam, even though it is a decent entry and has a good singer, it may be drowned in the sea of more entries.

17. ELEJAMIE
Alright, this is Elejamie, with the song "I Never Needed You" by Castores!

...

Quite a nice groovy beat. 90s DJ Hip-hop might be a callback to a lot of people. I was catching onto it at first, but then felt slightly repetitve. The lyrics weren't that on point I'd say either - They were basically sentences all revolved around "not wanting to be around you", whoever "you" may be.

18. ALEZIAN UNION
Alright, we now have Merliana. Her song Aime-moi will be representing the Alezian Union.

...

Quite funky, awesome, empowering oriental tune! I can assure that this will be a great placement tonight.

19. ERZTEI KISHIM
Gunas Timur's song "Pulses" is the one to represent Erztei Kishim, our running winners from Yvesia.

...

Quite the similar oriental-style beat to Alezian Union. I would say that this would do well, but the running order with two very similar songs may not help it's situation. I would say that the lyrics, which I have translated into English, have way more meaning than Alezian Union.

20. STRAYAROOS BARRIER ISLANDS
A song named "Ow" by some man with a rock? Interesting. Certainly interesting.

...

Did this man just injure himself on stage? And he just experienced pain from it, and that ladies and gentlemen is the entire song? Great! Awesome! Makes my job easier listening to 2-second songs!

21. CRUSTYLAND
Alright this is Crustyland and their entry "Hello, Darling" by Human Notwalrus and judging from the cover of the song we can make a pretty decent guess as to what this is going to go like.

...

Yeah... And you can call me right on that. What the hell was that? I mean it wasn't hard to infer that and apparently seal or walrus noises or whatever is a running joke in Crustyland's music.

22. METRAS
Time for another debut entry, from Metras! This is the group Eíroch with the song "Fallen God".

...

A very interesting folk song from Metras. While it was different and quite nice to hear, this won't do as good as they will hope to in the end.

23. MALTA COMINO GOZO
It is time for the host country, Malta Comino Gozo. We have the band Monsieur Disbelief with their song Encore.

...

Quite a nice song, a "chill vibe" as the kids say. I can picture this song being on the radio while driving on Malta Comino Gozo's coastal road. I won't be surprised if they end up changing their name to Monsieur Belief because they should believe that they'll do well!

24. SPIRITUAL REPUBLIC OF CARYTON
Alright, glad to see we have a married couple, Pearl and Howard Schuft, singing together the song "Stray No More", for Caryton.

...

Okay... You don't really get surprised with them being a 'Spiritual Republic'. While this may be a piece of culture for their people, and while the lyrics were nice, unfortunately I found that slow and too-gospely for my liking. (I'm tempted to insert a Thank God I'm An Atheist joke here - but nah, I'm good.)

25. ACHAEAN REPUBLIC
Alright, this is the Achaean Republic with Viviana Mercado and her song "Comunión"!
...

Wow. The start of this song is what I thought would be once another regular ballad type song about church or something yawnable like that - but was I completely wrong when the chorus jumped into action. Good on you Achaean Republic.

26. NORRP
Alright, here is Norrp with two R's. Salena's song "Lips".

...

Other than lets just say - the elephant in the room - "Lips lips lips lips lips lips lips lips lips lips lips", I don't think this entry will stand together amongst other entries.

27. VARTUGIA
I'm not saying the full name of this song either because it's lengthy, not on the Iqq Northwest thingy length of long, but still quite long. Anyway. Here this song by a toddler is.

...

Good to know that not only a two year old is singing this, but a two year old writ this song. If you have a lyric in your song that is talking about poo, well, the absolute least I can say is that don't expect points. Well, it's Vartugia. Their mission is to decrease in points, not to accumulate them.

28. BRITONISEA
Alright here is Amara Talin, with the song "Found", who will be representing Britonisea!

...

Well, incase you somehow lost her when she was performing on stage, she has been found again. Puns aside, it's quite a strong entry with a strong melody. Quite a powerful vocalist, may I add also. Britonisea, in my opinion, has a big chance of doing well.

29. KASANOVA-KORATICA
Well, here is Cassidy with her song "SHE LOVED!" In capital letters, I do not know why.

...

Of course, the song with ten words in it, is a phone tune that repetitively goes on for over Two. Whole. Minutes. If that wasn't a loop of an entry than I don't know what is. Isn't anyone questioning the fact that the woman just leaves and the phone starts hovering, in the air? Who even signed off on a floating phone? What kind of staging is that? More questions are being asked than answered.

30. TÖDLICHEBUJOKU
Alright, we have Tödlichebujoku, the one with the fairly long name that I most likely butchered. It's time to listen to their entry "The Kiss Of Night" by Viduriksin. Hoping I said that right.

...

Well, to say the least, it is quite a contemporary-styled song. Not to my personal fitting although, mainly because of the way the vocals are edited, which I find a bit unpleasing. I must say however that I can imagine this doing well, as a strong ending placement.

(Song judgements are completely IC commentary.)

by **Pemecutan** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:55 am

14/#PCU
Gek Ira-"Sisa Hidupku"
Title Translation: The Rest of My Life
Language: Pemecutan Malay

Music: Acwin Dwijendra
Lyric: Inka Yunita, Priambudi
Tune: Jess Glynne - Take Me Home

WorldVision 95 has been a great journey but a disaster result for Pemecutan. Their representative, Dede with his song "Dihargai" was only finished 18th and scored 99 combine points. By rank, it is the second lowest placement for Pemecutan under the supervision of GBC (the lowest was on 89th edition where they placed 21st). But by points, it is their lowest points under GBC and their first edition to get lower than 100 points after 7 editions.

"There's ups and downs in a competition. Just don't get too comfortable when we down."

- Kompyang Made Sukadana
Pemecutan Head of Delegation

GBC confirmed their participation to the 96th edition citing their intention to keeps getting better. For the upcoming 96th edition, GBC selected their representative privately. And after deliberate talks, the choice fall to Gek Ira with the song choice, "Sisa Hidupku".

Gek Ira

Gek Ira or Komang Ayu Wirayani Putri by birth, is a 29 years old singer from the town of Tumbak Bayuh. Graduated from Institut Perhotelan dan Pariwisata Canggu (Canggu Institute of Hospitality and Tourism) with a hotel management degree, she went to works at hotel in Canggu while pursuing her hobby in singing. She have been singing from cafe to cafe during her college. It's continue until she graduated and start working. Her parents doesn't know about her singing career because they are not quite supportive about it. They think that singing has no future.

Her fortune change after a record company approached her. She was ask to send a demo song to the record company so she can follow an audition. The luck came upon her as she pass the audition at the record company. At first, she is focused on Hanacaraka-language song. Her first self title album was well received. The second album was a mix language album and get a mix review. The song "Dihargai" is in the album.

The Head of Delegation stated that the choosing of newcomer and new artist to the competition, have the aim to promote them as long as giving them opportunity to the international stage. Gek Ira is also feel honor with the selection. The song itself was created by Inka Yunita and Priambudi. They get the inspiration from many online reading about overbearing and overprotective parents. Their attitude harming the development of their own child. The children will grow anxiety over how their future will be and their hardship to make decisions as all the time, the parents are always decided everything for them.

"I feel somehow related to the song itself. I have a strict parents. Although they are still give me some freedom but sometimes I'm facing a brick of wall when I explain what I want to do in my life to them."

- Gek Ira

As the representative from Zamboodle finished their performance, the postcard of Pemecutan is being displayed. The camera turn to dark stage. A bluish lights shine from behind as the intro of the song is begin. The lights shine through Gek Ira who is standing at the center created her body silhouette. The camera steadily focus on the front view of the stage. The white light then slowly shine from the front showing Gek Ira presence. She looks casual yet elegant wearing the violin pattern long jacket together with white tank top and jeans. The 7-inch pale violet red stilleto complemented her outfit tonight. Her wavy hair is kept flowing.

As she start to sing the first stanza, the camera take a close up look. The stage still use a bluish colors for their lights to give a cold and sad vibe. Gek Ira stand while holding the mic stand as the camera make a 180-degree view of her before zooming out. The audiences at the center of the stage can be seen waving a glowing sticks following the beat of the music. Only half circle of the stage lights are enlightened. This to give an intimate atmosphere to the performance.

Langkah ku selalu tertahan
Bimbang ku tentukan tujuan
Dan kau yang akan selalu putuskan
Apapun yang kau anggap menjadi jawaban

Dan aku hanya kan mampu
Mengikuti maumu
Karna yang kuputuskan
Selalu engkau anggap salah
My steps are always stuck
I'm worried about setting goals
And you will always decide
Whatever you think is the answer

And I can only
Follow your wish
Because what's I decided
You always think wrong

The camera successfully capture Gek Ira in a close up as she deepen her voice while singing the chorus. Her face show despair and confusion as she hold the mic with both hand. Her lips make a contact with the mic as she sing with a low tone. The camera make a 180-degree turn before get back to the front close up. As she finished the chorus, she take the mic off from its stand.

Sampai kapankah ku akan terus
Bergantung padamu didalam hidupku
Tak bisakah aku berdiri
Diatas kakiku, disisa hidupku
Disisa hidupku (4x)
How long will I continue
Depending on you in my life
Can't I stand up
On my feet, for the rest of my life
The rest of my life (4x)

The lights on the stage lighten up as she walks to the front circle. As she walk by, she take the opportunity to greet the audiences within the circle by grasping their hands. They are still continue to waving the glowing sticks inline with the song's rhythm. The camera follow her movement. It show how she walks from the front view, side and back view.

Waktu kan selalu berjalan
Dan kita takkan selalu bisa bersama
Di saat kau semakin menua dan tiada
Siapa lagi yang akan aku gantungkan

Dan aku hanya kan bisa
Tenggelam didalam bimbang
Karna setiap langkahku
Selalu ada dirimu
Time is always running
And we can't always be together
When you're getting old and gone
Who else will I depend on

And I can only
Drowning in worry
'Cause my every step
There's always you

It's a perfect timing that she stand at front as she sing the chorus. Her rusty voice can be heard as she singing in a higher note. The camera makes a perfect view as it pointed from below before raising up until her close up face is seen. Then it zoom out, viewing the whole stage.

Sampai kapankah ku akan terus
Dalam bayangmu, jadi bayangmu
Tak bisakah aku berdiri
Diatas kakiku, disisa hidupku
Disisa hidupku (3x)
How long will I continue
In your shadow, be your shadow
Can't I stand up
On my feet, for the rest of my life
The rest of my life (3x)

The camera back to close up view as Gek Ira sing the bridge. Her face showing sadness and desperation. She can perfectly acted out the meaning of the song as she build up her emotion to the end of the bridge. Her emotion can be easily heard from her rusty voice as she belted out and ended with a clear falsetto.

Katamu ku takkan salah jika ku ikuti
Segala yang sudah menjadi rencanamu
Karna benar, kau benar

Dan tak bisakah aku putuskan sendiri
Apa yang akan menjadi masa depanku
Tuk hidupku, hidupku

Tak pernahkah kau berpikir saat kau tiada
Ku akan kehilangan yang jadi pegangan
Dan ku rapuh, ku rapuh
You said I wouldn't be wrong if I followed
Everything that has been your plan
Cause you're right, you're right

And I can't decide for myself
What will be my future
For my life, my life

Don't you ever think when you're gone
I will lose the grip
And I'm fragile, I'm fragile

The music suddenly slowing as she sing the last chorus. The stage is also getting a little darker with a dark blue light glowing from the back. The music grow as she continue to sing. She put more power to her voice. The rusty become clearer but it's still heard. As she belted out her voice, she pull her mic to the side as she open her arm wider. Her voice gets a little shaky as the emotion take her away. Fortunately, she end the song with a perfect pitch.

Sampai kapankah ku akan terus
Bergantung padamu didalam hidupku
Tak bisakah aku berdiri
Diatas kakiku, disisa hidupku
Disisa hidupku (4x)

Disisa hidupku
Sisa hidupku
How long will I continue
Depending on you in my life
Can't I stand up
On my feet, for the rest of my life
The rest of my life (4x)

For the rest of my life
The rest of my life

The stage lights are enlight. Gek Ira hold her breath for a second as she try to calm herself after the performance. Then she is waving his hands before shouted, "SUKSMA, VALLETTA. THANK YOU!". The crowd roaring as she shouted the words especially audiences from Pemecutan who can watch the performance live.

by **Beepee** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 12:57 am

15.
"After All"
Performed by
Justin Annomore

Tune: Giovanni Zarrella - "L'Amore È"

About The Songwriter

Miriam is 27 years old from the capital of Northern Beepee, Melaleuca. She works part time behind the counter in a small cafe which her mum owns. In the evenings she performs self penned tracks in small venues around the capital.

In her spare time, Miriam enjoys swimming in the Huawan River, visiting the suburban markets to try local cuisine and feeding the sulphur crested cockatoos who visit her balcony.

Miriam previously performed "Goodbye" for Northern Beepee at Worldvision 87. At that contest, held in Peeto, Polkopia, she finished 16th.

At WorldVision 92 she made history again, becoming the first artist to perform for both Beepee and Northern Beepee, when she presented her song "Reasons". At that contest, held in Anÿme, Darkmania, Miriam finished in second place behind eventual winner, "Defiant" performed by Cidade de Deus of Nekoni.

It was with that pedigree in mind that Fanny Golightly, Head of the Beepeean WorldVision Committee, approached Miriam to write a new song for the latest edition of WorldVision.

Miriam says she was Inspired by the likes of Sophie Muret - "Un jour viendra" and Anne-Marie Paquet - "On commencera encore le matin". Thus giving our little nations entry a more cosmopolitan feel at this WorldVision, but Miriam insists the heart of the song is very Beepeean.

Miriam has been playing the song garnering local support. Indeed, she has released her own version of the song which has been rapidly climbing the Beepeean Topplist Charts.

About The Singer

Justin Annomore is a semi-professional surfer and singer from the tiny village of Mensteam.

From a young age, Justin excelled at the three "s"'s... Sitting, Standing and Smiling. Indeed his parents believed him to be hugely gifted and enrolled him in the Beepeean Bonnie Baby Awards, where he placed 4th runner up. His parents were sure he was going to become a professional model, however at his formative teenage years he took to surfing, as a way to impress the boys.

When they boys didn't necessarily come running, he learned to play the guitar around the campfire on the beach. Justin now splits his time between songs and the surf.

The song "After All" will be Justin's first professional release and was chosen after Ms Fanny Golightly saw a WhoTube video taken by one of Justin's friends.

After being selected, to represent the little nation that could, Justin has been thrown into a course to become a professional schlager star. He's been psyched and presented by every professional in the book and, in recent months, Justin has been writing and performing with Kanye Pheelet and the pair are expected to release a joint ep later in the year.

Justin was thrust into an interview with BONC prior to leaving Beepee for Malta.

BONC: Justin, congratulations on being selected to represent Beepee at Worldvision. How are you feeling?

JA: I'm super stoked! It's a honour dude!

BONC: I hear you've never been out of the country. How excited are you to go to Malta Comino Gozo?

JA: oh yeah! Totally! I've been chatting with Claude Bols, 'cause he went there in 85. It sounds totally sick!

BONC: Has Claude given you any suggestions of what to do, whilst you're there?

JA: He says the wine in Ghallieħa is great. I also heard they have some gnarly waves... so I'm going surfing!

BONC: How do you rate your chances are you confident of bringing home the title?

JA: It's not about the winning, it's about the experience dude.. its frothy... life's a journey, not a destination.

Exploring Swatar Bay

As is customary for Beepeeans, Justin arrived early, despite being generally laid back.

Justin had been excited to visit the little island nation and to sample its pristine waters.

Arriving at Malta Comino Gozo International airport, Justin was chauffeured to his hotel suite. The Maltese hosts always make their visitors feel special.

Indeed, even the Maltese National Air Carrier had allowed Justin to take his surfboard as carry on rather than putting it in the hold.

The drive to Elyad Tower, Marsahick was quick and easy. Marsahick was shiny and new, it's high rise development still glistening in the Maltese sun. The huge huge urban plaza and fountain buzzed with young professionals, mixing with WorldVision fans.

Claude Bols had told Justin about Ghallieħa, and whilst Justin was excited about the prospect of wine (what self identifying Beepeean wouldn't be), he was more keen to go to Swatar Bay.

The coastal resort of Swatar Bay had a long sandy beach and some of the best waves in the islands. And it was just a short trip north of Valletta. Swatar Bay had all of the watersports that Justin was into to and it had a vibrant night life scene.

On the first morning, he hopped in a cab, surfboard in hand and headed North throigh Valletta and along the coastal route around Saint Lucija Bay, with its village charm and Latin architecture, along the glistening coast.

Arriving atthe promenade in Swatar Bay, Justin breathed in the fresh ocean air, and looked out over the turquoise sea. On the beach, a group of young teens were playing beach football, cheering and yelling as they ran amok.

The interwebs had highlighted this area as the best surf in the area. Today, however, the surf wasn't particularly up. So he paddled out into the bright blue water.

As he went out, the water was warm, and he felt comfortable out on the water. Below him, the beautiful coral reefs so prominent in the northwest of Malta shimmered below him.

As he duck dived under a wave, he could see exotic clownfish schooling around the coral. Their bright colours and darting movement made Justin smile.

He stayed out in the water catching the swells. A small, but enthusiastic, group of local surfers joined him as the morning wore on. He was impressed with their quality and ability to have fun. They laughed and joked with him, a testament to the warmth of the Maltese people.

After a few hours he headed back to the beach, and caught some rays.   Before heading into the city to get some food.

Eating in the shadow of Colonel Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the country, Justin was taken by the relaxed and friendly atmosphere around him. He felt comfortable in Malta.

As the light faded on the day, the nightlife of Swatar Bay began to ramp up. He stayed close tot he beach and is wasn't long before some of the locals headed to the beach. They beckoned Justin over to join them.

They lit a small beach campfire, and passed round Maltese lager. The group partied playing music through a boom box. Artists such as 5ive, Aris Mooe and Brooke Galea played.

As the night wore on the group mellowed. The campfire flames were kept kindled, and someone brought out a guitar. Which they passed around. Singing local songs and ditties in both English and Maltese. Eventually, the guitar made its way to Justin, who sang a verse and chorus of his WorldVision Song. The group applauded, and whooped, surprised by Justin's vocal.

As the hours became smaller, Justin finished his bottled lager and picked up his board. Waved goodbye to his new friends. Hailed a cab on the main drag and headed back to his hotel. He had had a wonderful first day in Malta, and was now frothy at what was to come.

The Performance

Justin stands nervously onstage awaiting the video postcard to finish.

He's wearing a balck shirt, long royal blue jacket and denim jeans. Smart and casual.

He stands centre stage. Looking out over the vast Fed-Ex Forum auditorium. Fans are waving their flags back and forth, people are filming on their mobile phones. There's a thrum of excitement.

The serious WorldVision fans have painted their faces in the flags of their favourite nations or dressed up like their favourite artists.

The postcard comes to an end, and Justin prepares himself. He stands in a spotlight. The rest of the stage is in darkness.

As the music begins, the programme director starts with a sweeping shot across the front of the stage before settling onto Justin.

He smiles, acknowledging the at home audience, lifts his microphone and begins.

I walk among these rooms
The dark and dusty gloom
Used to be, you and me

Justin begins to amble across the stage passing by strategically place furniture covered in dustsheets, a table, a chair, a floor lamp. The scene mimics the mood of the lyrics. As he passes by the chair he runs his finger along the back wistfully reminiscing.

The moonlight shining bright
In the corners of my life
Highlights things, I don't want to see

A whift of smoke from the smoke machine lingers around the stage, adding to the sense of memory and history.

My mind returns to then
I wish I had the time, back once again
The things that I would change
The words I would find, to tell you the way I feel
I'd stand and fight or die on my knees

As the chorus begins, the crowd cheers loudly. Justin smiles, buoyed by the reaction. He walks to the front of the stage, as he continues...

'Cause after all, is said and is done
And after all, you are still the one
You see
You're everything to me

During the chorus, the director uses uses a panoramic view, sweeping around the stage and framing Justin from behind singing out to the crowd. Flags waving. The faces of the audience gazing up with joyful glee. In the auditorium, the voices of the fans who have been listening to many of the songs for months prior to the contest on WhoTube, sing along with the lyrics, openly and proudly.

Nothing holds me like before
There's no joy in things anymore
If I could take it back, if I could only retreat
I'd hear the melodies of life, the songs of us that play on repeat

The performance so far has been wistful and simple and, as the chorus comes around once again, Justin stands at the front of stage. This performance is not full of tricks or active choreography like many Beepeean entries. The simple ballad has been simply staged. The director uses alternating camera angles and views to maintain interest for the televisual audience.

'Cause after all, is said and is done
And after all, you are still the one
You see
You're everything to me

The bridge has a different feeling to the rest of the song and the simple spotlight which has followed Justin throughout his performance so far is joined by deep blue lighting which beams out from the stage.

And if I could return
If I had these moments over
I'd take back the words that hurt you so deeply
The things I've come to learn
I wouldn't lose composure
I would fight to not give up our love so freely

With the key change, Justin buckles and falls to his knees in a dramatic interpretation of the music. It's a little 2008, but the audience seems to enjoy the drama of the performance. he sings the final chorus on his knees.

'Cause after all, is said and is done
And after all, you are still the one
You see
You're everything to me

Justin, on his knees, emotes the longing inside of him. The director despairingly tries to get a clear shot of Justin in between the wavingbflags from the fans, so cuts to an aerial shot of the stage. With Justin on the floor, it shows the enormity of the Fed-Ex Forum.

You see
You're everything to me

As the song comes to a close, Justin makes his way onto his feet. He smiles and waves at the audience. "Thank you" he says, before making his way offstage, making his way for the Belgaam artist.

by **Belgaam** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:13 am

16 - BELGAAM

ŻAMÍRA RÖŻUNSI - YOU WISH
TUNE: MIMI WEBB - 24/5

Belgaam are participating in the WorldVision Song Contest for the eighth time. Last time they participted, they sent Żirañai with “The Truth” which came 25th with 71 points, Belgaam’s worst result to date. A week after the contest, TBS said they would release an official statement. People were worried that Belgaam would withdraw, and their suspicions were unfortunately confirmed when TBS said that they would not participate in the 90th edition. Another long hiatus followed until a surprise announcement that Belgaam would try again and participate in WV96, and the artist and song had already been chosen. Relatively unknown singer, Żamíra Röżunsi was announced as the Belgaamian participant for WorldVision 96 with her song “You Wish”. When she was announced she said “I’m so excited to participate in WorldVision for my country, I love you all so much”.

No one really knew who Żamíra was at the time, she had 197 monthly listeners on Spotify, with two songs that had 763 and 835 streams respectively. She instantly went #1 trending on Twitter after the announcement and gained 22,796 new monthly listeners, and “You Wish” debuted at #3 on the Belgaamian Spotify Top 50 and #6 on the Belgaamian Music Charts Top 100. Żamíra had never really had any experience on the stage before, so WorldVision was going to be her first time performing live on a stage. WorldVision, the biggest song contest in the world! She thought she was ready though, after all this was her dream, and she wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stop her.

She made friends with some of the participants in the red carpet, like Poli from Polkopia and Merlina from the Alezian Union, and took two photos with some of the participants, which both went viral in the Worldfan Twitter community, making her #1 trending in Belgaam again. During the red carpet she said in an interview, “I will admit that there is a lot of pressure, being the first Belgaamian entrant since the 89th edition, but I’m just happy to represent my country.” She loved the fact that she could support all the artists, all from different countries and backgrounds.

It was time of the performance, she had never performed live, this was her first time, but she felt confident on the stage after all her rehearsals, her vocals were perfectly fine and she knew she was ready. She walked up to the stage, ready to sing her song.

Żamíra is wearing this dress while sitting on a moonlight prop high above the stage, which is slowly being pulled down as she sings.

For the first time in four months
I forgot you existed
And I never thought the day would come
I was living in pain with you
Now there’s nothing you can do
Good luck tryna convince me that you’ve changed

Żamíra gets off the prop, while 2 female dancers appear.

I just wanted someone who’d never let me go
You threw it all away so I’m better on my own

Żamíra starts to sing the chorus, when she says “you wish”, she and the dancers point at the audience.

Now you’re crawling back to me
Saying you messed it up
Boy you’ve got some nerve
Now you want me back, oh, you wish
I’m with someone new
Don’t have time for you
Just believe it’s true
Now you want me back, oh, you wish

Żamíra walks over to the audience and blows a kiss when she’s finished singing the second verse.

I hope you’re happy
Cause that wasn’t the case for me
But now I finally see through all your lies
I still cry about it some days
Others, I’m immune completely
I’m done with you, accept it, move on

Żamíra sings the pre-chorus of the song with so much confidence, you can clearly hear it in her voice.

I just wanted someone who’d never let me go
You threw it all away so I’m better on my own

She starts to sing the chorus, and like last time, she and the dancers point at the audience when she sings “you wish”.

Now you’re crawling back to me
Saying you messed it up
Boy you’ve got some nerve
Now you want me back, oh, you wish
I’m with someone new
Don’t have time for you
Just believe it’s true
Now you want me back, oh, you wish

Żamíra sings the bridge of the song, and hits a really big high note at the end.

You think I need you, I’m stronger by myself
Say that you’ll change my life, well I don’t need your help
The things you put me through, and you expect me to come back, well I’ve got news

Żamíra sings the final chorus, and points at the audience again when she sings “you wish”. She ends the song on a 3 second long note.

Now you’re crawling back to me
Saying you messed it up
Boy you’ve got some nerve
Now you want me back, oh, you wish
I’m with someone new
Don’t have time for you
Just believe it’s true
Now you want me back, oh, you wish

When the performance ends, Żamíra says “THANK YOU SO MUCH MALTA, THANK YOU WORLDVISION, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!” as she and the dancers walk off the stage, they didn’t care what result they got, they were just proud of the performance.

by **Malta Comino Gozo** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 3:16 am

The camera pans outwards as the stage colours turn back to the WV96 logo to Brooke on the catwalk.

Brooke: "That was "Żamíra röżunsi" from Belgaam. What a performance!! How are you enjoying the show so far guys?!" The crowd roars excitedly, pumped with adrenaline! The camera pans from Brooke out across the audience with flags and arms waving everywhere!

"Brooke: On with the show! Up next is. Castores with I Never Needed You from my Fatherland, Elejamie!"

by **Elejamie** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:09 am

17. Elejamie (#EJM)

Castores - I Never Needed You

Tune: Armand van Helden (ft. Duane Harden) - You Don’t Know Me

Left: Andrew Simmons (lead vocals). Right: Edward Simmons (backing vocals). The main identifying factors between the two is the notch in Andrew's eyebrow and Edward more often than not wearing a hat. (OOCly they’re two images of the same person but shhhh)

Castores is a duo made up of twin brothers Andrew Simmons and Edward Simmons (both born on 4th October, 1989, with Andrew being the oldest by about 17 minutes). Born in Woodsworth, ESRE, the two moved to and grew up in neighbouring Cascone when they were fairly young. While the two didn’t particularly care much about music when they were younger, they still gave it a shot when they joined the local church choir; while they weren’t exactly standouts or anything like that, they were still good enough to say on until they both left around the age of 14. When he was 17 a newly vegan Andrew and a few friends formed a punk band called Animal Rights, where he was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. They played some local gigs and even participated in a Battle of the Bands contest but a number of issues, creative differences included, forced the band to break up a few months later without a single session in the recording studio. He joined another band the following September, an R&B vocal collective called Slomo, but he left the band six years later to go solo.

Edward, on the other hand, didn’t really care much for music after leaving the choir. While he mostly sang while he worked or was by himself, he didn’t really feel the need to give a professional singer a go. Even when he went to university to study mathematics, he never felt the need to join or form a band, although he did play for his university’s soccer team and did fairly well even though it was kind of clear that he never really planned to go pro. After a couple of years working there he was hired by a local alt-rock band to perform vocals for a concert after their original lead singer fell ill and couldn’t join them and they overheard him singing while he was on a break. After a successful concert he was offered to stay on but he declined, although when the original singer left a couple of years later he was invited and this time he accepted. The band, Sugarcane, would end up releasing one album to mixed reviews, went on a small tour shortly afterwards and disbanded. He would spend some time with Diego García’s Travelling Band despite not being a huge jazz fan before forming the indie rock group CD32X in 2018 with him on lead vocals, rhythm guitar and the odd violin solo.

In January 2020 Andrew, who by this point was the first number one of the new decade, saw how well his twin was doing both critically and commercially and decided to offer that the two join up to form a supergroup. While neither person’s music really interested the other, they were able to find a happy balance between the two and decided to go with an overall “pop plus” sound. Unfortunately, they couldn’t spend much time in the recording studio together due to the coronavirus pandemic but fortunately it gave the duo more than enough time to get things planned out including a name for the supergroup. They were finally able to get into the studio shortly after the lockdown ended and record a number of songs. Indeed, while they have repeatedly recorded songs and released them over the months, they’ve gone on record that there will never be a proper Castores studio album as they only want to make the best product possible with them and they don’t want to bog it down with filler.

Not as lengthy as most of my other Artist Backgrounds but to be honest I didn't have that many ideas for them and I didn't really want to pad it out too much.

To put it bluntly, Elejamie sucked at the last contest. Whether it be because the entry was trotted out with not a great deal of fanfare, because of everyone getting tired of the whole “Will The Humanoids represent Elejamie at WorldVision?” question that kept popping up, because it was overshadowed by the surprise return of Polkopia and Ertzei Kishim (the latter of whom went on to win the contest) or because it wasn’t a very engaging song with a performance that was equally unengaging, there was no denying that the country clearly could’ve sent someone better to Yvesia. It wasn’t exactly doom and gloom, fortunately, as the points it got tended to be fairly hefty. It got 10 points from both StrayaRoos and Adab as well as an eight from usual points-giver Malta Comino Gozo and a seven from the Alezian Union (who had pipped Lisa Park and Her Gang to the post in the contest before), along with points from a few others. Indeed, they were in fourth place with 38 points going into half-time before they had another trademark second half collapse where they eventually finished in 16th place with 49 points. They did receive a better score in the televote, albeit not by much as they only got 53 points to drop down to 17th with 102 points total. Fittingly, they finished behind the Alezian Union once again, who finished with 113 points.

Despite this being a cause for concern, EB announced that the country will participate at the 96th edition in Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo; coincidentally it’ll be the third time the city has hosted the contest after hosting the 78th and 85th editions. Furthermore EB have announced that the country would be represented by Castores, a duo made up of twin brothers Andrew and Edward Simmons who do a variety of genres with different collaborators. And, indeed, they decided to go with a song they have specially made for the contest, a little ditty that they had called “I Never Needed You”.

When asked about the song, main singer Andrew Simmons said “Simply put, it’s basically a song where you’re living the best life you can when your ex decides to show up to bring you back to all the bad times you had with them. And you don’t want that so you just tell them to leave you alone. It can be however you want it, really. It could be a ‘don’t babytrap me’ sort of song, it could be a ‘you go girl, kick that man to the curb’ song, it can be a song where the same things are happening but everyone involved is LGBT. It’s up to you to determine what it’s about.” However, when asked about the lyrics and how a bit repetitive they were, he then added “Yeah, to be honest we could only get the chorus down before hitting massive roadblocks. We spent around two days trying to come up with something and even attempting to word salad it before we had to record the vocals, still nothing. So eventually I decided to just improvise on the spot. While I wouldn’t say it was the best, I did the bulk of it in one take with the other takes just being little extras thrown about. Also we wanted to harken back to a time when dance tunes didn’t really need deep, introspective lyrics but instead just something to really fill it up so it didn’t matter that much.”

Eventually, it was time to jet off to Valletta. Despite the two of them still being fully vaccinated against coronavirus (although Edward contracted it at the start of last year, his symptoms were very mild and he shows no signs of long COVID or any other permanent damage) and Malta Comino Gozo still doing a valiant job at keeping the disease at bay, they still had to quarantine themselves for seven days upon arrival; on the upside, any Elejamian citizens who haven’t received the jab (or refuses to) can still be allowed to travel abroad but they must quarantine for fourteen days upon arrival (their entire party much do the same even if everyone apart from that person has been fully vaccinated and had a booster) and, if it turns out that they faked their vaccine card, they’ll be subject to a hefty fine upon returning home. Fortunately, the brothers Simmons didn’t have to go through that and, after their seven days were up, they were free to explore the city and get up to some fun.

There was unfortunately a bit of a snag because now it was a question of what they could do that hasn’t been done before. After all, Imogene represented the country in WV78 and Lisa Park and Her Gang joined Lucía Beltrán when they took part in WV85, so naturally most of the fun stuff had been done before. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have a crack at it, it just meant that people would bring up that the duo weren’t the first WorldVision people from their country to do what they did there. Still, they had plenty of fun just exploring the city and taking in the sights, from the harbour to the old town to even a quick day trip around Comino and Gozo. There were even a couple of vegan restaurants dotted around town so Andrew could go and get a quick bite to eat.

Eventually the big night had arrived. There were no more rehearsals, no more preparations. Everyone had to be ready to put on a good show, no exceptions. Fortunately, both Andrew and Edward were ready to do just that. They had a good idea of how they wanted to perform their entry and they were able to show it off fairly OK while they were practising. Now it was just a matter of seeing whether or not said practice actually paid off and they were able to pump up the crowd throughout their entry. Not to mention how it was now just a question of whether they’ll be able to bounce back from that disappointing showing in Nakom or if they’ll edge closer and closer to withdrawing from the contest forever. We’ll just have to wait and see.

The postcard came to an end and we then cut to an empty stage. There was a reason for that and, no, it wasn’t because the Simmons brothers were late. We’ll get onto why this is in a bit. Either way, the audience was cheering and the overhead camera tilted and zoomed right into place to make sure it had a good view of the stage. While it didn’t seem necessary because there was a cut to the foot of the big stage at the back, it was best to get it in place for the moment, especially since they planned to do something with the camera in that position later. Either way, the lights dimmed a little bit and the crowd’s cheers died down a bit as the song started.

Indeed, when the song itself started, the lights immediately shot back on, incredibly brightly as a matter of fact before they dimmed to an acceptable level. The backing screen turned on and just showed a black screen with a row of bars (made up of green lines) going up and down in time with the music. Not just that but they were literally going up and down depending on how loud each part was like the bass, the mids, even each individual instrument. Meanwhile both Andrew and Edward were backstage and not only were they getting ready to get out there but they were both dancing and jumping on the spot. They even engaged in a bit of shadowboxing with each other, going as far as to lean back even though it was clear that fist was never going to connect to face. The audience at the FedEx Arena couldn’t see what they were doing but the viewers at home could due to the cameras there cutting between the same static shot of them and different angles of the empty stage. As the intro went on, the cuts between the two kept getting faster until it stopped with a shot of the two bumping their forearms together and walking out onto the stage.

Just in time too because, just as the drums kicked in, the lights went bright again briefly and jets of smoke came out of the pyrotechnics at the foot of the stage. The bars on the stage also morphed into a spinning green wireframe circle, something that resembled an old XP-era Windows Media Player visualization. The crowd cheered again as Andrew waved his arms when he walked out, while Edward rhythmically shuffled his shoulders before he spun around on the spot. And it was taken from the same angle the camera was at before all those cuts began. While Andrew grooved his way down the walkway that went to the left, Edward strutted his stuff with the camera following him from the side as he eventually got around to singing the chorus. He was wearing a grey pastel suit with a baby blue shirt underneath, with a grey panama hat that had a white band around the brim as well as a pair of grey dress shoes to complete the look. Just as he finished singing the chorus, he moonwalked while the camera did a sort of panning roll over to Andrew, who had just finished skipping over to the big platform in the middle and was now bouncing on the spot, ready to sing the first verse.

I don’t even need you
‘Cause you’re no good, no good for me
You’re never gonna change
So why can’t you leave me be?

And so it was time for the first verse. Andrew threw the microphone into the air, where it did a flip before he was just able to catch it. He held it up his mouth and started to move back and forth on the big plinth at the front of the stage while he sang. He was dressed in a white tank top, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of blue and white trainers, with a pair of blue Wayfarer sunglasses that also had a blue-to-black gradient on them. He also had a couple of tattoos on display; one on his left shoulder of the Einstürzende Neubauten logo but the circle in the middle has been replaced with the traditional “circle-V” vegan logo and the other, on his other upper arm was a colour one of a cow surrounded by flowers with “Live and let live” written around it. As he sang he simply waved, twirled and overall threw his arms around just to give them something to do. He even went as far as to point towards himself or the crowd at appropriate moments.

He turned around to face the audience directly in front of the platform at the start of the fifth line and stuck his arm out, sticking his index finger up and waving his wrist three times, before jumping back a few times throughout the sixth line; while he was doing that, Edward was on the main stage at the back moving his arms backwards and forwards in a way that looked like he was literally pulling his twin brother back with a rope. For the seventh and eighth lines Andrew walked forward again and shuffled his body from side to side with a spring in his step, though he had his head down for the seventh line and he slowly raised it as he sang the eighth. When it came to the last line he stopped moving and moved his arm around like he was trying to swat something out of the air, all while his head was turned to the side and moving back and forth towards the mic depending on how much he wanted to emphasise a syllable he was singing.

Why did you come here?
My life was better without you
I want to try something else but you go
Do the same things you always do
I’m not allowed to move on
‘Cause you keep pulling me back
I just want you to leave me be
Won’t you let me get right back on track?
I don’t need you!

The lights got brighter and the camera quickly cut back to Edward as he sang the chorus, although the camera quickly swivelled over to Andrew when he sang the bit in the brackets before the camera swivelled back to Edward. He was simply bouncing on the spot, hunched forwards while he swung his arm backwards and forwards. However for the third line he got up and swung his arm around in a windmill before moving it backwards and forwards which turned into him spinning around on the spot. Towards the end of the fourth line he pointed towards himself before again moving his hand like he was about to swat something with the back of his hand. He bobbed his head in time with the music as the lights dimmed a little bit for the next verse to start.

I don’t even need you (I don’t need you)
‘Cause you’re no good, no good for me
You’re never gonna change
So why can’t you leave me be?

There was a dissolve cut to the top of the stage, with the camera zooming out and tilting down as Andrew began his verse. He spun around towards the end of the first line and pretended to open a door at the end of the second, essentially mirroring the lyrics for those lines. He swayed from side to side for the third line before he moved onto the fourth line, where Edward pretended to pull a rope again and Andrew scooted himself backwards to pretend he was being pulled along with it. However, towards the end of that line, he shook his body and pushed himself forwards to pretty much break himself free. He lurched himself forward as he lost his footing briefly as a result but he managed to regain it in time for the next line, where he pretended to spin a record throughout the fifth and sixth lines before he stood still and made a thinking gesture for the seventh line. For the eighth line he stuck his arm out and pointed at the audience before he wagged his finger back and forth during the last line, almost as if he was scolding someone or imitating a metronome.

I’ve turned my life around
I’ve now opened new doors
But now you’re right back in my life
Trying to bring me back to before
You’re nothing more than a broken record
You keep playing the same old tune
And now I’ve had time to myself
I don’t think I ever needed you
I don’t need you!

The camera quickly cut over to Edward singing his bit before it immediately swivelled over to Andrew making his way down the catwalk while he sang the bit in brackets. Indeed, there was a bit of back and forths between the two during this bit, with Andrew even spinning around on the spot during the second line before he carried on moving to the stage in the middle. Partway through the third line, the camera then cut to an overhead shot showing that both twins were now pretty much together. There was a quick cut to Andrew singing before it returned to a close-up of Edward performing the fourth line. At the end of it, there was a shot of Andrew leaning back as he sang the bit in brackets before the camera immediately zoomed out and panned to the right as both twins ran towards each other and jumped so they could high five each other while they were in the air.

I don’t even need you (no, I don’t need you)
‘Cause you’re no good, no good for me (you have never been good for anything)
You’re never gonna change (and you ain’t changing your spots)
So why can’t you leave me be? (No~)

The good news was that, unlike in the normal rehearsals and the first dress rehearsal, they actually managed to high five each other. They even managed to time it right so that their hands connected while the lights immediately shone brightly and the row of pyrotechnics at the foot of the stage went off. The bad news is that one of them appeared to have used a bit too much force because they were wincing in pain because of how much it smarted. Still, they had a song to perform and they immediately could use their pained reactions as part of the song, either to show them emphasising certain lines or to keep the performance interesting. As Edward strutted around the stage he sang the line through mostly gritted teeth, waving his stinging hand around or resting it an inch in front of one of his thighs. As Andrew sang he paced back and forth with a spring in his step, waving his hand around trying not to let the pain get to him. The camera went back and forth between the two before it finished with a shot of Andrew kneeling down in front of the camera singing the bracketed lyrics in the fourth line before he gently pushed the camera out of his face, albeit by resting his hand on the side of the lens and pushing it in that direction as opposed to putting his hand on it and pushing the camera backwards like he did in an earlier rehearsal.

I don’t even need you (I never needed you)
‘Cause you’re no good, no good for me (I want to live my own life)
You’re never gonna change (just leave me alone)
So why can’t you leave me be? (tell me why you are still here)

During the little instrumental break the camera cut briefly to the crowd dancing and getting down to the music before the camera quickly panned back over to the stage to catch Andrew and Edward shuffling around the stage busting out some of their own moves as well. They slowed down a bit as the lights dimmed again as Andrew simply stopped and bounced on the spot. When he sang again he turned his face away and moved his arm to his side. He pretended to swat someone away at the end of the second line before he slowly turned around to face the audience as he sang the third line. When it came to the fourth line he leaned back and raised one of his hands slowly before bringing it down as if he was slamming it down onto a table. For the fifth, sixth and seventh lines he moved his arm derisively, either pretending to push someone away, grab them by their collar before pushing them away, sweeping them aside or just jabbing them by his elbow. As he sang the last line he leaned back a bit, raised his arm to the sky and spread out his fingers, all while the camera circled him. It carried on circling him as it slowly raised itself before it tilted itself down for an orbital shot.

Go away
‘Cos you won’t leave me alone
And you keep bleeding me dry
I’ve had enough now
Just move on, just move on
Just move on, just move on
Just move on, just move on
Yeah~

The lights immediately shone brightly again, the pyrotechnics went off to the point where there were some jets of fire that formed a wall at the foot of the stage, the background faded into another visualisation (this time going from “Green Is Not Your Enemy” to “Gemstonematrix”) and the wind machine turned on. Fortunately it wasn’t too powerful, they didn’t want to knock Edward’s hat off again. The camera cut to a shot of Andrew leaning forward as he finished singing the last line of the previous verse with a bit of emphasis, all while Edward was off-screen singing his bit. He came back on screen while he sang the second line before Andrew immediately brought the microphone to his mouth and sang his bit with a bit of emphasis, where he jumped into the air before hunching down and sang the bit. The camera then cut over to Edward strutting his stuff as he marched up and down the stage before he spun and nodded at the end of the line before the camera quickly panned over to Andrew, who sang his bit in brackets.

I don’t even need you
‘Cause you’re no good, no good for me (just leave me alone!)
You’re never gonna change
So why can’t you leave me be? (I just want something new, yeah)

Andrew jumped at the end of his bit before the camera returned over to Edward, who sang his bit while Andrew was off-screen. It stayed like that until the end of the second line, where his head popped into frame as he sang. The camera then followed him at this point, where he raised his arms in frustration at his line in the third line. When it came to the very last line of the song he stopped moving and faced the audience where he leaned forward and slowly raised his arm in the air and shook it a little bit for emphasis. At the end of it he immediately brought it down as if he had thrown something to the ground and stood up straight before he moved a little bit closer to the foot of the stage. It probably helped that Edward also crept into the shot at that point so he could stand next to his brother so they could end the song together.

I don’t even need you (I just want to live my life)
‘Cause you’re no good, no good for me (away from you)
You’re never gonna change (why are you still here?)
So why can’t you leave me be? (just leave me alone)

Eventually it was the end of the song. The studio version was simply a case where the song would just instantly fade out around the last line, which actually gave them a bit of leeway when it came to ending it when they were performing live. In this case, the music cut out and the backing screens faded into a black screen before Edward sang the last line of the song: ”I don’t even need you!”. After that, the two of them pulled a couple of poses to show that they were officially done singing. Andrew went down on one knee, his head down although his sunglasses were up so they don’t accidentally fall off like what happened in the first dress rehearsal and his arm stretched out as if he was presenting his microphone to someone else; Edward, on the other hand, was standing up straight with his legs spread apart by about a foot, his head tilted towards the ceiling albeit not too high so his hat doesn’t fall off (agan to prevent another minor mishap that happened during the first dress rehearsal) and one arm down by his side albeit at an angle whereas his other arm was raised straight into the air as if he was offering the microphone to the gods.

Almost immediately after the song had ended, the audience broke out in applause as well as some cheering. Whether it was because they enjoyed the song or because they wanted to be nice didn’t really matter, either way both Andrew and Edward felt that they gave a good performance. After a quick sweeping shot of the crowd cheering the entry they had just heard, the camera then quickly cut to them giving a quick bow before they waved at the audience. The two of them said “Thank you Valletta!” in unison before Andrew finished off with “We hope this isn’t goodnight!” At that point, they fist bumped before they headed backstage. While the stage was being set up for the Alezian entry (we just can’t escape those lovely people, can we? /affectionatejoke) the duo headed back to their table to relax. Maybe have a couple of beers too.

by **Alezian Union** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:52 am

B A C K G R O U N D

The Alezians has just received its worst placing in the history of it being in Worldvision after reunification, where Irlene Lilvouw earned 16th place. To some Alezians the result in Nakom was considered as a national embarrassment especially over the fact that Aziz-Lutfi Garanov with the Time-Killers won the entire contest in Marina Point before that. Due to this, the National Final that selected Irlene which was Alma was put on hold and on audit by the Alezian Broadcasting Authority over decreasing standards on the songs, with an increasing possibility of overall cancellation, and due to the result, the viewership of the contest in Alezia plummeted by 20% of it's usual viewings.

Since this is North Alezia's turn to shine, the Zafizamarrah branch of the Alezian Broadcasting Authority decided to select another new talent for the Worldvision Song Contest named MARLINA. Initial showings to the public was good, and thus ABA decided to go with it.

Other than the less than stellar result last edition, the Alezian Union has entered the top 10 in every occasion, with Aziz Lutfi-Garanov featuring the Time-Killers contributing Alezia's first win.

A R T I S T - I N F O

Merliana Alvaranda or known with her stage name as MERLINA is a North Alezian singer, model, and dancer. Born on 16th of October 1995 in Kencana Timur, Basna, North Alezia as the only child to Zarifinuddin Alvarizzi and Nisroeliena Randayan (yes, Merliana's surname is a combination of the two), she's been showing her talents since she was 5.

Over the years of her career, she was known for releasing song covers of popular songs mostly from the popular singer Andi Robi Idris Novogrody. Due to this, she earned top 10 most followed ARICO.net accounts in 2018. Other than that, she has only released three original songs in her repertoire, all of them released last year, named "Causality", "Get Away", and "Our World Now", where all three earned the top ranking of #62, #33, and #17 respectively and all songs stayed for atleast 3 weeks.

Merliana also tried to represent her region of Basna (before it turned into a sub-region due to reunification) at the 2017 AleziRadio Festival of Songs, but failed to pass the regional preselection "SEMUA KAN BISA" with the song "Don't Lie To Me Now" which earned 7th place. She then tried again the year after, but once again failed to go into the national competition with her song "Overly Obvious" which failed to even enter the semi-finals.

She also tried to represent the previous nation of North Alezia many times before. She tried representing Basna in Alezimania Season 3 and then ALMA season 7, but all resulted in failure. Then after reunification, she tried representing North Alezia in the newly restructured Alma, but got third place in the North Alezian preselection, nearly getting into the 8-list.

However, she'll finally earn her wish when she was contacted by ABA Zafizamarrah to represent the Alezian Union in Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo. Together with her friend Jonathan Charlequey they presented three songs, all in the combination of English and French.

S O N G - I N F O

"AIME-MOI" which is "Love Me" in French is a song about desperation for love and adoration, so much that you have to use another language to express it.

The song was written by Merlina herself and Jonathan Charlequey. They also wrote the lyrics. The usage of French was thanks to the fact that she and Jonathan went to the same school in 3rd Public High School in Basna Kota, where they attended the same French class.

The song itself has a special graphical design language that is pretty uncommon in Alezia even though Alezian arts are known for it's simplicity, which was shown at the 93rd Worldvision Song Contest which the country hosted. The yellow heart on the black background represents "an answer within a sea of questions".

While MERLINA was selected internally, her song was selected by the Alezian public without an international jury. The results of that was shown below:

Place	Song	North	South	MN	PI
1	Aime-Moi	51%	72%	63%	42%
2	Desiree	30%	19%	20%	46%
3	C'est Un Chat	19%	9%	17%	12%

As shown above, the song was highly regarded by the Alezian public, where it won the public's hearts where the song won by atleast a 20% margin from the song below it on every region except for the Pantabang Islands where it's tight voting session wins the second song "Desiree" by just 4%.

T H A T ' S - T E A - I N T E R V I E W

PERFORMANCE

TUNE: Funda Kilic - Hoppa

The Alezian entry was met with loud applause from the audience. We can see Marlina and her backing dancers facing against the audience, as the beat prompts the lights to turn on and off again as the lcd below and above starts showing black and white waves moving around the stage. The camera then moves to one male backing dancers shouting:

ALIKAI! ALIKAI!

Marlina reveals herself by facing the audience wearing a black short dress and black high heels to match. The backing dancers revealed themselves wearing black jeans and tanktops afterwards. Marlina walked from the back to the front of the main part of the stage, and then stopping to take a bit of a shout before she sung facing upwards. The camera then changed into a spidercam for a while recording the entire stage from above which was having an animation of black and white waves moving up and down which.

She then started singing, moving her hands to the right, and then at the last sentence crouched a little bit while pointing to the Television viewers from the camera.

Love me, Love me, Love me,
Love me just like you do,
Love me just as I am,
Love me like you.

She then did the same thing on the second part, but the camera moved forward, then backwards, then forwards again at the first sentence. And the camera records the live performance from the side, this happens as the lights move up and down on the ceiling

Call me, Call me, Call me,
Call me just like you do,
Call me when you need me
When you need it

Marlina stood on the center while the backing dancers spread out to the back occupying four areas on the sides. The camera zooms in front as Marlina holds on to her heart as the floor shows an animation of black and white circles beating uncontrollably.

My… My heart beats… Like a drum…
Unstoppable!

The camera then zooms out again as the audience was shown flying flags of countries around the world, where the Alezian team looks small from far away.

My… My feelings, it’s awry
Please don’t make me cry!

The screen then quickly zooms in then splits into three, showing Marlina pointing at the camera on the right and a backing dancer shouting the words on the left. The bottom part of the split screen takes half of the screen showing the view from the top showing the LCDs on the floor showing animation of a black wave moving upwards then back like an ocean

Aime… Aime-moi!

As the most important part arrives, the backing dancers jumped forward as they let out a "hurk", where they then kicked the air. The screen behind the team shows a video of the word “Aime-moi” being shown over and over again. The camera shows the stage showing a yellow heart on a black background. Marlina walked from the center of the stage to the front island at this point, stopping to fling her left hand to the sky on the last sentence.

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Je t’adore, Accroche toi
I cannot stay still,
You are my key

Marlina then continued her walk as she arrived at the island met with the audience flying flags of many countries. At the end of the chorus, Marlina stopped, faced the audience, then points her two pointing fingers at the camera as it slowly zooms towards her before swinging itself upwards.

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Je t’aime, Attho’i
I want to love you,
I hope you will give your love to me…

The scene from the previous verse was repeated. The camera moved forward, then backwards, then forwards again at the first sentence. Merlina can be seen swinging her hands on the air before laying down on the stage's floor over the animation of a yellow heart still beating.

Tell me, Tell me, Tell me,
Should I do something wise,
Or just leave everything be,
And take my leave

The camera did the same thing as before, but from the top. The camera then slowly zooms into Marlina slowly from the top. Marlina can be seen "wondering" before flinging her hand at the last sentence and standing up again at the same time.

Say it, Say it, Say it,
Should I just be honest,
Or leave it to the past,
And take my leave

The camera changes its view to show the backing dancers gathering to form a horizontal line, before dispersing themselves pushing themselves against eachother.

My… My, oh my… I won’t lie,
Lie anymore!

The camera then returns and zooming into Marlina swiping her "tears" before once again pointing her finger at the camera.

My… My, oh my… I won’t cry,
Crying anymore!

The camera zoomed out and then once again, The screen then quickly zooms in then splits into three, showing Marlina pointing at the camera on the right and a backing dancer shouting the words on the left. The bottom part of the split screen takes half of the screen showing the view from the top showing the LCDs on the floor showing animation of a black wave moving upwards then back like an ocean

Aime… Aime-moi!

As the most important part arrives, the backing dancers jumped forward as they let out a "hurk", where they then kicked the air. The screen behind the team shows a video of the word “Aime-moi” being shown over and over again. The camera shows the stage showing a yellow heart on a black background. Marlina walked back from the front to the center of the stage, stopping to fling her left hand to the sky on the last sentence.

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Do not force me to start
Please don't lie to me
Don’t break my heart

As Marlina walked from the front, The view then changes to show the entry from a camera that flies into the stage, then changes into a steadicam that intercepted Marlina on the way, before finally making her way to the center of the stage, met by her backing dancers as she once again looked at the steadicam.

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Je t’aime, Attho’i
I want to love you,
I hope you will give your love to me…

As the last sentence was sung, the background shows a golden heart that is growing some roots slowly. In front, Marlina raised both of her hands and looked up as the backing dancers looked towards the right side of the stage as they crouched and moving their hips back and forth. During this, the lights went on and off to the beat. Marlina adlibbed "COME ON VALLETTA!" to the excitement of the audience.

At the second part of the beat (after the horns), the backing dancers faced the front again clapping their hands along with Marlina moving her shoulders left and right. For a moment you can see the Alezian fans jumping up and down while shouting "HEY HEY HEY" flying Alezian flags and holding signs with the slogan "BRING ALEZIA BACK TO THE GAME!" The steadicam then views the backing dancers running towards the center front of the stage persuading the audience to clap along.

Then, Marlina stopped to do her signature long shout that is popular in Alezia at this point, while a backing dancer stood next to her and shouted while pointing at Marlina

AIME MOI!

The same video was shown again. The camera can be seen zooming out of the scene where it can be seen that the Alezian didn't joke with pyrotechnics as fire can be seen being shot from the bottom and the top of the stage.

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Je t’adore, Accroche toi
I can’t stay still,
You are my key

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Je t’aime, Attho’i
I want to love you,
I hope you’ll give your love to me…

The backing dancers then jumped backwards before pivoting to meet Marlina at the same time on the center. The steadicam then shows Marlina singing before doing her shout again from the right side to the left side of the stage, before changing the view to show the stage from the ceiling.

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Do not force me to start
Please don't lie to me
Don’t break my heart

Aime-M'aime-Me-Moi
Je t’aime, Attho’i
I want to love you,
I hope you'll give me your love…

Then as the backing dancers and Merlina gathered in one spot, they all posed shaping a heart with their hands with Merlina in the center pointing her hand at the audience with it being met with the last shot of a firework from the bottom.

AIME-ME-MOI

The audience applaused the Alezian entry, as Merlina shouted as she raised her hands to the air while saying "THANK YOU! THANK YOU VALLETTA!" jumping a little bit. The view changes to the Alezian fans celebrating what just has been their entry. The Alezian team walked away from the stage to give room to the next entry.

by **Ertzei Kishim** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:46 am

. : 19 - Ertzei Kishim - أراضي الكيش - ארצי כישים : .
Gunas Timur - Pulses
גונס טימור - פעימות
Language: English, Hebrew
Lyrics & Composition: Gunas Timur, Salem Al-Hamadi
To the Tune Of - Gülşen - Bangır Bangır

If you had asked anybody in the HARESHET office pre-WorldVision 95 that not only would Ertzei Kishim be competing in the contest, but actually have a shot at winning, they would laugh you out of the multi-million dollar complex built in Makhaviv. The shock which came with Omer Grady's victory in Yvesia enraptured the whole country, who once again fell in love with all things WorldVision. Indeed, following Ertzei Kishim's previous withdrawal following WorldVision 89, the general public's desire to participate had slowly decreased, and, outside a loyal cohort of superfans, the contest was not viewed as the spectacle it once was. However, with Grady's victory, this changed. Thanks to a successful booster campaign and limited restrictions, a huge crowd was able to gather to welcome Omer Grady home from his big victory. Simultaneously, his song, "Statues" not only rose to the top of the domestic charts, but also found international success, including in many of the participating nations' own music scenes. As was traditional for most successful WorldVision acts, and especially each Kishraeli winner, Grady was signed onto a contract with the state's recording studio. For those interested, his upcoming album will be released in the coming year. The contest was also a success for Kishraeli allies Polkopia and Scotatrova - the former also returning after a hiatus of identical length, and the latter who is believed to be the reason why Ertzei Kishim returned in the first place. They finished third and second respectively.

After the fanfare of the last contest died down, HARESHET now had to pivot to a successor to Omer Grady. HARESHET were initially reluctant to sent two entries successively but, given the victory, it was almost unheard of not to attempt to defend the crown (barring of course the notable case of Scotatrova). Because of a lack of planning, and a severe lack of expectation from the previous contest, HARESHET were blindsided and unfortunately did not have the capacity to organise a national final in the timeframe it would take to do so in Ertzei Kishim. Instead, the selection committee would try and go for a successful internal selection once again. Interestingly, of Ertzei Kishim's six wins, five of them had come from internal selections (an interesting fact for sure). They tried once again to attract perhaps the biggest name in Kishraeli music who had not yet competed (or attempted to). Gunas Timur. Hailing from a Circassian family in Makhaviv, Timur is a superstar of Arabesque music in Ertzei Kishim. At the age of 45, she has been branded 'Umm Kishim' for her domination of the genre in the country. Nevertheless, she also has a string of solid pop and dance songs under her belt, making her popular across the Kishraeli generations. Indeed, while some have called her the Fairouz of Ertzei Kishim due to her melodic 'wailing' style voice, others consider her closer to a Cher figure, every so often releasing gay-inspired floor fillers to the clubs in Rakaphy, Tiferet, and Makhaviv. Her services were not guaranteed however, and an extensive back and forth between HARESHET and her team ensued before an agreement, and some guarantees were established. Gunas Timur was not signed to the national record label, preferring her own labeless, independent release system which, due to her name recognition, allowed her full freedom. For this project however, the rights to her song MUST be signed over to EKRA, the Ertzei Kishim Record Association. Similarly, EKRA and HARESHET that her offering should primarily be in English, with an option to add Hebrew. This was a particular point of contention, as it effectively excluded Arabic and Circassian, the latter of which is Gunas' native language, and in which she has released some of her most popular and expressive songs. Unfortunately, HARESHET were concerned as to how well Adyghe would translate onto the world stage (OOC: Read, I cannot speak Adyghe), given its rough phonology and minute speaker pool.

The single cover released alongside Timur's song

With her multiple years of experience, Gunas knew the direction in which she wanted to take her song. It was to be a combination of Middle Eastern elements with pop, and some Afro-beats intertwined too. While the initial mood-board appeared chaotic, after recruiting long-time producer and collaborator Salem Al-Hamadi, the duo were able to fashion together an exciting pop song. The offering was actually quite risky, and many in HARESHET had expressed concern that it was slightly left field, and not mainstream. Their fears were allayed slightly when, in its demo form, the song was played to some international focus groups who praised the composition, calling it 'exotic' and 'exciting'. Even if the feedback had been more negative, it is unlikely Gunas would have compromised on her vision - she had established herself as Ertzei Kishim's number one singer, and that had been primarily due to her visionary music practices. The song is based on pre-Abrahamic Kishraeli mysticism. Ertzei Kishim as an area of land was late in the adoption of Abrahamic faiths, with large pockets of pagan belief persisting in the country's hinterland up until the 1300's. To this day in more rural communities, local superstitions of jinns and spirits persist, despite government efforts to turn the population away from such beliefs. Folk stories of ancient rituals, performed by hysteric women high on drugs and alcohol, had long been depicted in ancient art and literature. Such ceremonies would involve blood letting, drug-induced premonition, and of course, dancing (some more humorous Kishraelis would quip that it is from the ancient times that Kishraelis got their love of dance). Speaking in an interview with HARESHET, Gunas noted that this was her inspiration 'I wanted to try and take these old stories and modernise them in this song. It's almost like a fantasy world where these old beliefs continued today, with modern music, style, expression'. To this end she also expressed a desire for a wild and energetic stage performance, larger in budget than what had been provided for Omer Grady. HARESHET were not a rich broadcaster, but given expectations for a second impressive performance in a row, they indulged Gunas somewhat.

The HARESHET delegation were used to travelling to Malta Comino Gozo, they had done so many times before, and thus preparations for arrival were extremely simple and efficient. At least in terms of its climate and geography, Malta was very similar to Ertzei Kishim in that it was warm and Mediterranean, with beautiful beaches. With the easing of many COVID-19 restrictions on the island (OOC: I'm guessing, lol?), the team were able to enjoy a more typical WorldVision experience, where sightseeing and promo events were the norm. Gunas was particularly in her element during the media circuits that she would attend - her experience in the industry included media training, and she endeared herself to those covering the contest. While the luxury afforded by the Marsa Spire was certainly welcome, Gunas also longed for a more gritty experience. Indeed, a video went viral in the community of Gunas in a local bar singing an acoustic version of her song to locals, some of whom were also able to sing along. While Gunas was doing her thing, the HARESHET team were confronting the reality that the stage in Malta was relatively small, and did not afford extensive room for movement. This was an issue, as they had planned for an extensive and grand stage show with the budget they had allocated. This was kept under wraps however, as HARESHET's previous withdrawal from the contest had been due to financial mismanagement. Edits had been made so as to accommodate for the stage, and those in the delegation who had planned the initial show remained optimistic that the performance would be worthy of the song they were sending.

The running order for the night had put Ertzei Kishim in a difficult spot. When it had initially been drawn, HARESHET was unaware of the song that the Alezian Union had decided to sent. As it turned out, they too had delivered a Middle-Eastern pop number (quite interestingly, considering they are from the other side of the world). The fear was that two similar songs one after the other may affect the perception of one or the other, but that was the cross that HARESHET had to bear. As the crowd's noise died down following the Alezian entry, the Kishraeli postcard played on the screens in the arena. The stage crew hurried on to fix the staging for the entry, as did the numerous people who were to appear on stage. In total, some twelve dancers, six male and six female, would accompany Gunas on stage. They were dressed in neon-tribal body suits, their gender identified only by the fact that the women also had neon ponytails of equal length. In the centre of the stage too was a giant box with similar neon tribal patterns on. One side of the box was left open, and it is in here that Gunas would start her performance. The open side of the box was facing the back of the stage however, so the audience could only see the tribal patterns on the other three sides. As the music began, nine of the neon dancers spread out across the stage, stomping their feet and slapping their thighs before spinning. At least for the intro this was the choreography they performed. Meanwhile, two dancers sat on top of the box, and a third did the same choreography, but standing on top of it. After the extended intro, Gunas put the microphone to her lips and began to sing. As she did, the box, on mechanical hinges, began to turn around so that the hollow inside, where Gunas was sitting, was then revealed to the audience. Simultaneously, the three dancers on the top of the box lowered themselves down into the hollow opening and assumed their positions around Gunas.

Ba kol mi shemehapes sibah lishkoah
בא כל מי שמחפש סיבה לשכוח

Vekol mi shetzarikh livroah
וכל מי שצריך לברוח

Bahum hazeh ha'isun memale et hamar'ot
בחום הזה העישון ממלא את המראות

Ani bati lehalot paimot
אני באתי להעלות פעימות

As the box turned around, Gunas was revealed to be sitting on a chair in a multi-platform set up. Tropical plants hung from the walls in the box, while the three neon-clad dancers sat on different levels, with Gunas on the ground level. She was wearing a non-neon tribal body suit, but unlike the image, it was decorated with rainbow fringe along the arms and legs. Her makeup was glamorous, but not too heavy. As she appeared the stage lighting remained dark, but as the drums and beats kicked in, white lights at the side of the stage would spin in conjunction with the music. Overall this softened the dark staging, but the neon lights remained bright on the box and, beginning through the floor and on the back of the stage too. As the bridge began, Gunas got out of the box and began stepping forward into the stage proper. An overhead camera shows that with every step she takes, the floor shimmered and shot out neon sparkle and shapes, creating a dynamic effect. As she heads to the front of the stage, Gunas gives sultry looks to the camera and to the audience. Once she reaches the front of the stage (after travelling down the runway) her dancers gather around her, and then splay out across said runway in preparation for the chorus.

Tripping out on an electric baseline
The music grabs and pins you to the floor
Your eyes desperately look for a sign
Stealing your breath but you beg for more
The golden amber cloaks you in its warmth
The dark night's rapture is intoxicating
Go forth my beautiful dancers!
Continue this holy night transformed!

For the chorus, both Gunas and her dancers perform identical choreography. Due to the chanting and rhythm of the chorus, some believed it evoked imagery of tribal war chanting from times gone by. Gunas in fact liked this idea, and much of the beginning of the choreography is characterised by more rigid militaristic formations. This becomes looser however as various arm movements, mainly performed in a spinning motion are introduced. Finally, the last part of the choreography once again focuses on stomping and hitting the thighs with their fists. Throughout this Gunas performs these moves with one hand as she sings into the microphone otherwise. During the na na na parts, the dancers flood back to the main part of the stage, with Gunas promptly following them a short time later, moving with a skipping motion.

If heaven hasn't found your soul
Let the beat steal it away instead
Come forth and surrender control
Throw back the poison 'til you are dead

The demons of hell may seem alive
Dancing to the rhythm of the Jinn
These are the best days of our lives
Breathe the atmosphere and bathe in the sin

Na na na na na

Returning to the main stage, Gunas sings again the start of the song in which the title is proclaimed. The camera looks at Gunas directly in the face as she sings, but as it ends and the pulsing beat signals the start of the next part of the verse, a neon pattern emerges on her face and her eyes turn yellow. This is achieved with clever camera tricks, but is meant to emphasise the rapturous ecstasy of these ancient rituals. While this pattern appears on her face she emotes as if she is in pain, and then pleasure, as one would be if they were intoxicated with multiple substances.

Ba kol mi shemehapes sibah lishkoah
בא כל מי שמחפש סיבה לשכוח

Vekol mi shetzarikh livroah
וכל מי שצריך לברוח

Bahum hazeh ha'isun memale et hamar'ot
בחום הזה העישון ממלא את המראות

Ani bati lehalot paimot
אני באתי להעלות פעימות

For the next part of the song Gunas drops to her knees, as do her female dancers who swarm around her. Both Gunas and her dancers begin pulsing up and down (kind of like that dance move in the 'Low' video by Flo Rida). Following this movement, the female dancers then move positions around Gunas, creating a constant movement of neon around her. The intertwining of featureless bodies around her creates an interesting, if slightly scary presentation. To some it feels raunch, and to others somewhat avant-garde and artsy. This time when she sings 'Go forth my beautiful dancers, continue the night transformed!', Gunas almost shouts the end part, and a flash of light momentarily illuminates the stage. Her dancers fly back onto the stage as she sings this part, and, during the flash and commotion, Gunas herself is able to stand up on her feet to prepare herself for the next part.

Tripping out on an electric baseline
The music grabs and pins you to the floor
Your eyes desperately look for a sign
Stealing your breath but you beg for more
The golden amber cloaks you in its warmth
The dark night's rapture is intoxicating
Go forth my beautiful dancers!
Continue this holy night transformed!

The chorus follows much the same pattern as the last one, however the military formations and marching do not take hold. Rather, the dancers go straight into their arm gesticulations, spinning, and stomping. For the second part of the chorus as Gunas sings about the 'demons of hell', four male dancers lift her into the air, and she perches on them elegantly, crossing her legs and lifting her non-microphone hand into the air. As she sings this part, the camera effects once again imprint the neon markings and yellow eyes onto her face. The markings move with the markings of the face, suggesting some facial recognition software has been deployed to keep the presentation consistent. While the male dancers hold her, the female dancers, and the other two males, continue the choreography in the background.

If heaven hasn't found your soul
Let the beat steal it away instead
Come forth and surrender control
Throw back the poison 'til you are dead

The demons of hell may seem alive
Dancing to the rhythm of the Jinn
These are the best days of our lives
Breathe the atmosphere and bathe in the sin

Na na na na na

The final verse and chorus have completely different lyrics than the first two, so as to keep the song interesting (despite the Arabesque genre which Gunas sings typically employing a repeated verse and chorus structure x3). For the switched up Hebrew lyrics Gunas now lies back on the four men carrying her, the additional two dancers coming to support her shoulders as she lies back. Looking at the ceiling once again, the floor shimmers in neon rainbows around the dancers as they walk and slowly spin Gunas around. The camera begins to move towards her, so that as she gets to the final line it has moved into her face, but keeps going into her eye, and then into a space scene. A seamless cut at some point in the zoom reveals that actually the camera transitioned from her eye onto the back of the stage, allowing for this effect to take place.

Kshemehatikrah haziah notefet
כשמהתקרה הזיעה נוטפת

Veksheberoshkha hamuzikah poemet
וכשבראשך המוזיקה פועמת

Ba lekha lesaken et hakol
בא לך לסכן את הכל

Zeh batopim, babes, uvealkohol
זה בתופים בבס ובאלכוהול

The final chorus is of course the most important and, with new lyrics, is to be sold to the viewer differently. HARESHET went HAM on this final product, as Gunas gets down from the dancers and begins stomping forward with the six female dancers splayed out either side of her. The frontal camera shot then shows four of the male dancers appear behind them, their height allowing them to be seen. The final two dancers are then pictured spitting fire in the background, as fire shoots up from in front of Gunas too in spurts. Neon pulses rush through the stage as the stomping choreography resumes. The frantic stage show is meant to exemplify the crescendo of ecstasy one would feel at these ancient ceremonies, at which point the blood letting and ritual dancing would be in full swing. The final 'na na na' begins, and, with her hair covering one of her eyes, a shot through the now constant stream of fire shows Gunas' face looking almost primal and evil. The very final shot ends the performance from the front, with Gunas smiling and laughing as the song comes to a close.

Set ablaze the roots of the earth
Under darkened skies the souls rebirth
To the sky the spirits run free
So I let the harsh winds take me

The ecstasy our hearts devour
An arrogant and bloody power
So dance for now, beautiful wildflower
His spirit comes at the midnight hour...

Na na na na na

The crowd erupt in cheers for the quite frankly, crazy performance they just witnessed. Gunas cannot help herself from laughing, even though she is out of breath. "Thank you Malta, Nirringrazzjak minn qalbi!" she shouts, taking advantage of the similarities between Arabic and Maltese to impress the island's natives. The team are ushered off stage for the next performance, as the stage crew heave the huge box into the back. This very expressive, and expensive performance, had to give HARESHET a good result, or there would be discontent amongst TV bosses back at home. For now however, Gunas and the HARESHET team were just here to enjoy the night, listen to some great music, and see where they would finish in the end.

by **StrayaRoos Barrier Islands** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:29 pm

20:StrayaRoos Barrier islands
#SBI
Man & Rock-Ow

Man and rock is the Top artist in StrayaRoos Barrier Islands,Man and Rock are puppets of An Lacrosse Player

(Hits rock on his leg) Ow ow ow ow

Done!

by **Crustyland** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 3:26 pm

21 Crustyland

Song

Nineteenth with 87 points, not a bad result at all for Crustyland! Their catchy folk song had done ok! With a successful run of good entries, the money had all but dried up. CRAP was broke. The news broke that Malta Comino Gozo, their best friend, their neighbour, their closest ally, (Crustyland was neither of these for MCG, MCG just happened to tolerate them) was hosting Worldvision 96! Benjamin Cramp was ecstatic! A chance to lump another semi-aquatic sea mammal on the poor unsuspecting public and HOPE it stays there. Crustyland had tried AND failed on multiple occasions to send a "semi-aquatic sea mammal" to the host nation hoping that once the contest was over they could leave the animal behind, as a leaving gift of sorts and hope no one would notice... everyone would notice, a half a ton walrus or hungry seal wondering around the WV area was pretty hard to miss and eventually the creature would end up back in Crustyland (unharmed of course.)

Benjamin gather his staff around a table, on it was a strategic map of Malta Comino Gozo, something you'd often find in WW2 war rooms. On the table were miniature seals on sticks (instead of airplanes and warships). Benjamin was dressed in his smartest attire as he addressed his staff. "We will approach at the dead of night... I have found a rubber dinghy that should be able to carry the Walrus to Malta Comino Gozo unnoticed, whilst the decoy band will fly into MCG International. The walrus will be disguised in state of the art Crustylandian disguise" This "state of the art" costume was no more than a paper mache suit shaped vaguely in the shape of a large round man with 2 huge eyes stuck to its "head" and fake stuffed arms and legs. To go the extra mile the designer had added a handy little badge to the costumes suit, it read "Human".. "That ought to fool everybody!" the designer cheered."

The plan was to sail the Walrus who would be on stage for them and the 2 backing singers in. The Crustyland HOD would fly in and go through customs with the decoy band before they would rendezvous at the beach to smuggle the walrus into the arena. This would not be a challenge to them, as dumb as the Crustylandians were, they were highly skilled in concealing a large walrus into places they weren't meant to go. Their "decoy" singer was dressed in exactly the same costume as the Walrus. The song, called "Hello Darling" by Human Notawalrus was a clubbing song that was very popular on its release in Crustyland.

The stage was set and the postcard ended. The Malta Comino Gozoan crowd applauded loudly, as they were very polite to everyone, and their nearest neighbours were no exception. With Crustyland having been through a phase of sending credible entries the public expects big things from then. This was not one of them. A hair raising "BLARGH" echoed through the arena and the song began and the background blared out into various psychedelic colours and circles that pulsated out of these screens. There was a woman on stage but sadly there was also a fat Walrus. How on earth had this Walrus been smuggled in! The Walrus sat in the middle of the stage content and began to wail excitedly to the song, with the woman performing the "English" part in the background. The camera would jump, float about crazily to the song and even spiral around towards the stage. Many bright strobing light flash to the beat.

Blarghhhhhhhhhhhh!
Blargh!
Blarghhhhhhhhhhhh!
Warghhh!!!!

We have a brief shot of the lone female backing singer. She is dressed quite seductively in a velvet dress as she sings her line to the camera on stage before cut back to the messy camera work of many shots of the hyper Walrus close up from the side afar etc etc.

Hmm Yes!
Seal!
Eghhhhhhh!
Seal!
Blarghhhhhhhhhhhh!!
Snorttttt!!

The song ends with a massive noise from the large Walrus and the crowd wondered what they had just sat through. A minute apprehensive applause breaks out and the woman leaves the stage leaving the Walrus behind. With the stagehands suddenly realising what the Crustyland delegation was up to again, they quickly smashed the "break glass here" cabinet on the wall and grabbed the bucket of fish they had on hand in case of Crustyland emergencies. "Not this time!" they shouted and lead the Walrus away safely coxing it with the fish!

Worldvision Song Contest 96|Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo|IC

Worldvision Song Contest 96|Valletta, Malta Comino Gozo|IC

03|StrayaRoos|#STR|Sajuna-Sharks|

SBC Worldvision 96 Commentary

07. Aenglide #AED

08 | Nightom | NESTER ft Walter Karlsson - Vengeance

ÆTV | Bengt Dolá | English Song Commentary

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