World Hit Festival 82 in Morizécourt | Festival Thread

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 12:54 pm

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FOREWORD from Céline Arroche, Director-General, Institut général de télédiffusion

Je tiens tout d'abord à remercier une fois de plus le diffuseur estogien RVC pour la magnifique présentation du concours à Fort Avalanche. Ce fut une expérience véritablement euphonique !

La Carrelie est une union de nations, chacune possédant un patrimoine musical unique que nous espérons mettre en valeur et faire connaître tout au long du concours — ces traditions sont au cœur de tout ce que nous faisons en tant que diffuseur fédéral. C'est un grand honneur pour nous d'accueillir le Festival international de la chanson ici même, dans notre Confédération. Morizécourt est une ville qui nous a véritablement séduits lors de la sélection des villes hôtes, et nous sommes impatients de relever le défi de donner vie au festival à venir. Nous espérons offrir une saison du FIC riche en divertissements de qualité à nos téléspectateurs et aux délégations, et que chacun prenne plaisir à illuminer son cœur à Morizécourt !

—

I would first like to thank once more Estogian broadcaster RVC for putting on a wonderful contest in Fort Avalanche, it was truly a euphonious experience!

Carrelie is a union of nations, each with their own unique musical heritages that we hope to showcase and bring awareness to throughout the contest — they are at the heart of everything we do as a federal broadcaster. It is a great honour that we have the chance to host the World Hit Festival right here in our own Confederation. Morizécourt is a city that really wowed us during the host selection phase, and we look forward to the challenge of bringing the forthcoming festival to life. We hope to deliver a WHF season full of great entertainment for our viewers and delegations alike, and that everyone enjoys bringing their hearts to light in Morizécourt!

The IGT is proud to present its very first hosting of the World Hit Festival, in Morizécourt, Douria. Making its debut in the 57th festival, Carrelie has participated in the contest ten times, and has seen its share of highs and lows — from 17th place finishes in WHFs 57, 60, and 66, to CLEO's extraordinary win in Estogium last edition. The IGT is no stranger to hosting international song contests — three times the institute has hosted the WorldVision Song Contest, twice has it hosted the similarly-named-but-unrelated Eurovision Song Contest, and at times it has provided structural support to the hosting of Carrelie's long-running Songfestival (though this is mainly the purview of the national broadcasters). For those unfamiliar, the Carrelian Confederation is a federal republic comprised of fifteen 'nations' — with their own governments, cultures, languages, and the like — spanning western and central Europe, with land also in the Caribbean and the island of Borneo. It is a country of variation, of contradiction, and most importantly (as Ms Arroche so aptly put it) unique musical heritage.

Musique, nature et culture se conjuguent à Morizécourt, joyau de la Sarre. The town of Morizécourt is a vibrant gem tucked away on the banks of the Saar, just waiting to be discovered. Home to a little under 40 thousand people, it lies only 7km from the Carrelian—French border, giving it a distinct metropole flair seldom seen through the rest of the Confederation. Besides its French connection, the town offers a vibrant local economy with plenty of local businesses, a friendly and accommodating local populace, and quick links to the cities of Dépelier, Havenbrêge, and Mont-Sanguine. Despite its small size, there's no shortage of things to do in Morizécourt. Your delegations can visit local restaurants, featuring unique takes on French and Dourien cuisine, patronise local businesses, and live it up on the Old Street, where pubs and clubs abound. Particularly, you may wish to see Morizécourt's famed market, the weekly tradition where local artisans sell everything from farm goods to flags, and visitors come in from all around the region to shop 'til they drop. All this, while staying in La Vielle, a quaint hotel on the town's outskirts with a European-countryside chic.

Leading WHF82's star-studded presenting lineup will be Annemarije Bonten (better known as VARIØL) and Juliet Taussig. As VARIØL, Bonten became one of Carrelie's biggest cultural exports in the late 90s, with Eurodance hits "(I Wanna Be A) Superstar" and "Kom in het ritme" topping the charts across Europe and even reaching charts in the USA. As part of the rock band Holes, Taussig scored 3 #1 hits in Carrelie between 1997 and 2004, including the classic "Einmal die Sonne", and later went on to have a very successful career of her own. They may have come from opposite sides of the music industry, but one thing unites them – they're music veterans who sure know how to put on a show! Alongside them will be Radio 87 DJ Cynthe Larroux, who will present the contest's online content on social media, IGT.ce, and worldhit.net, and beloved icon Vian Genamman, who will provide commentary for the contest on IGT 1.

Welcome to Morizécourt!

...And of course, welcome to the 82nd World Hit Festival! Over the past few weeks, the whole world have descended on the little town of Morizécourt. They've seen its sights, experienced its rich culture, ticked off their itineraries – but now it's time for the main event. The Salle Reine Julie is aglow with expectation, thousands of WHF fans, artists, commentators and more packed into its twelve thousand seats. All is dark on stage, as the IBA ident plays on screens across the globe.

It's been a long string of preparations on the Carrelian side, and the IGT is determined to make the 82nd World Hit Festival go down without a hitch. 14 countries are competing this time around – the most to compete in the contest in more than 10 editions – so hopes are high and expectations even higher. Backstage is a flurry as everyone gets into their positions, as they've been rehearsing for more than a week now. Orders fly across the air as obliging stagehands move props around and the fourteen participating acts prepare to take their place in the arena. Once everything's in order, a few figures step onto the stage, obscured by shadow. Following them is the girl who brought WHF to Carrelie.

In many ways, CLEO's performance here is more or less exactly identical to the one she delivered in Fort Avalanche – if it ain't broke, after all...

She's kitted out in some sleek sports sunglasses, a pleated white polo dress (the type that was particularly in vogue in Carrelie in the late 2000s and early 2010s) with some hot pink accents, a little reminiscent of Croire's cover, some leg warmers, and a pair of stilettos. As the music starts, the camera looks at the stage from the top down, showing the heads of the performing trio. CLEO steps up onto the walking pad and begins with a mighty strut befitting a rising pop diva as she begins the first verse. Throughout the verse, the spotlights all shine a light pink on her, as the LED walls show pink with the song lyrics in capitalised script font. It is deliberately unreadable.

Je ne veux pas parler, je ne
veux pas me battre avec toi
Tu m'empêches de partir
Oh non, et puis je l'aperçois

They enter the pre-chorus, and the backup dancers gather in a line behind her to perform a toned-down version of the often replicated dance of thousand hands. At this point, it's a little kitschy... but that's entirely the point. CLEO looks directly ahead at the audience, and as she waves her arms in a sort of "S" formation the dancers follow slightly delayed behind her. At the last line, CLEO points her left hand like a gun into the audience, and the dancers all stick their arms out to her left before retreating towards the back of the stage.

Sous les couvertures
Je veux être avec elle
N'est pas un ménage à trois
Qui est le drame ?

Following this, the LED walls in the back explode in a flurry of different colours, producing a sort of glitch effect as neon greens, blues, reds, cyans, yellows are all introduced into the palette. The lights illuminating CLEO turn off, leaving her much like a silhouette in front of the bright colours. She produces a neon green skipping rope from her pocket, and begins to swing it confidently. First to her left, then to her right, and finally (at the third line of the chorus) above her in a motion resembling lassoing. A camera follows the rope intently through its movements, swerving to CLEO's sides before zooming out to show the rest of the stage. Naturally, she is strutting all the while.

Ô, tu ne crois pas
Tu ne comprends
Comme j'apparais
Si élégamment
Tu avec elle, et moi aussi
Tu ne croiras jamais rien de ce qu'elle dit, non

As soon as the chorus ends, CLEO seemingly carelessly throws the rope behind her, with its handles hitting one of her backing dancers in the head. Right on cue, he pretends to faint and the other dancers come to his aid in a rather comedic scene that could, perhaps, at first be taken seriously. The choreography adds to this sort of character CLEO aims to put on, a stereotypical, sort of trash-chic, popular girl with the men fainting over her... even if she has to make them. She doesn't even turn back to view the situation unfolding before her, though it can be clearly seen. At the beginning of the pre-chorus, the dancer is suddenly right as rain once more and they repeat the directions from the first pre-chorus.

J'aime être entouré de gens
Qui lui ressemblent et parlent
C'est dommage qu'elle soit à toi
On dirait une fille d'Ougunnustan

Sous les couvertures
Je veux être avec elle
N'est pas un ménage à trois
Qui est le drame ?

CLEO is lowered back onto the walking pad at the end of the pre-chorus, as the second chorus begins. In many ways the staging is similar to the first chorus, though instead of a skipping rope she mimes using a badminton racquet she's been handed by one of her dancers, pretending to serve and then periodically flicking it in the audience's direction. At "tu avec elle", she flicks the racquet out far to her side, and at "et moi aussi", she turns her hand and brings it in close, before returning to what could perhaps be called a regular stance.

Ô, tu ne crois pas
Tu ne comprends
Comme j'apparais
Si élégamment
Tu avec elle, et moi aussi
Tu ne croiras jamais rien de ce qu'elle dit, non

As the chorus ends, a short instrumental begins, and CLEO once again discards her prop. The three dancers approach the walking pad as CLEO continues strutting, and at "Tu ne croiras..." they hoist her up and begin to slowly spin her around as the bridge progresses, prompting an excited audience reaction. The LED screens go dark, and stark white spotlights shine down on CLEO as the camera slowly zooms into her from above. As this happens, she wields her microphone in front of her, and with her other hand beckons the camera closer.

(ne crois pas)
(si élégamment)

Tu ne croiras, ne croiras ja-amais
Tu ne croiras, ne croiras ja-amais
Tu ne croiras, ne croiras ja-amais
Tu ne croiras, ne croiras ja-amais, non

Suddenly, she's set down and the screens begin to flash with all sorts of colours as the spotlights stay on her for the final chorus. It's nothing short of an epileptic person's worst nightmare, and it's quite a brash way to end a song. The spotlights all power off and power on in sequence as CLEO begins to strut once more (pulsing in time with her words all at once as she sings "Si élégamment" and mimes finger guns towards the audience).

Tu ne crois pas
Tu ne comprends
Comme j'apparais
Si élégamment
Tu avec elle, et moi aussi
Tu ne croiras jamais rien de ce qu'elle dit, non

(ne crois pas)
(ne croiras, ne croiras, ne-ne-ne croiras)
(si élégamment)

Tu ne croiras jamais rien de ce qu'elle dit, yeah

At the final line, the dancers approach CLEO to strike a final pose as she slows her strut and eventually stops. She points her fingers up past her face, miming a gun, and pretends to blow smoke off of it as the song ends and the lights cut out all at once, a single "yeah" reverberating through the audience now shrouded in darkness. The audience applauds uproariously as CLEO exits the stage.

And for a moment, all is quiet in the Salle. Everyone there can feel the anticipation building in the audience, until a voice rings out...

"Veuillez accueillir chaleureusement vos hôtes de ce soir, Annemarije Bonten et Juliet Taussig ! Please welcome your hosts for tonight, Annemarije Bonten and Juliet Taussig!"

And like clockwork, the two hosts descend down the small stage's two rear staircases to meet the applauding audience. Neither of the hosts are necessarily native French speakers, but quotas that the IGT must fill dictate that tonight's programme will be quite a bilingual production. As soon as the audience begins to die down, Annemarije begins the hosts' spiel...

Annemarije: Mesdames et messieurs, bonsoir ! Bienvenue au 82e Festival international de la chanson, en direct de la salle Reine Julie à Morizécourt !

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:04 pm

lyrics jocelyn "kent" hylland, tori coler | music jocelyn "kent" hylland, tori coler, damita jo hirasawa
tune Blackpink - GO

RTNL TV1's March 31, 2026 CE face reveal image for Kent Hylland (pronouns: they/them) on the Facebook/Instagram-like Bookr; it was also translated into Tomerian, French, and Japanese for posting on the respective Bookr profiles of RTNL TV2, RTNL TV3, and RTNL TV4

First of all, let's introduce the multiverse to this singer-songwriter who considers themself a part of Tomerion's burgeoning utaite industry. Their full name's Jocelyn Robin Kentaro "Kent" Hylland-Goto, and they were born on March 23, 1998 CE in the suburban city of Woodleigh-Mandarin (located west of the city center of Lantal, Tomerion's administrative capital as well as the political center of its sub-national State of Kwanteddia). Their biological parents - Addison Jonathan “AJ” Hylland and Jasmine Keiko “Kay” Goto - got divorced a few months after their birth. And yet, it remained apparent that Kent was going to be one of those teenage musical prodigies (albeit without any part of their IRL face being revealed until their 23rd birthday, which was also when they finally came out as an AMAB pangenderflux person).

Having already posted their own music videos online for nearly six years - during which they'd gained the nickname of "the Avid Chameleon" for their ability to make their voice work over a wide range of sounds - by the time they released their R&B-leaning debut studio album (the TRIA-platinum-certified Boys Over Flowers) in 2017 CE, Kent's subsequent studio efforts (2020's folk-based Baywatch, 2023's techno-based Body Language, and 2025's alt-pop-leaning Big Brother) have helped them cement their position on the radars of many observers of the OTM (Original Tomerian Music) scene and its various subgenres.

And for any NSTT fans who happen to be reading this... well, Kent's the older half-sibling of Tomerian pro tennis player Tori Coler, with whom they tend to spend their free weekends making watercolor-style art using digital tools (none of which are AI-based).

The official cover art for the "Onyx Eyes" single*

Now that the Tomerian postcard's finished its run, we get to see Kent's shadow inside a nearly-opaque magenta box that's equipped with a portable lift, sitting on a chair in this pose as the music begins so they can sing their song's first verse.

[Verse 1]
I know that I’ve been wishing on a different star
And as this fire burns, it may seem like war
And so I might sound like another buffoon
But still, in the end, we gotta be on the same moon

The box then starts flashing between white and magenta as Kent - still sitting on the same chair as before but showing more signs of movement from the prior pose - sings the first run of the pre-chorus.

[Pre-Chorus]
So now you’ve chosen to play this love game
Well, then, I’ve chosen to do the same
Let’s see how we fare ten minutes on
‘Cause when we’re touching, we only see sparks of gold

The portable lift portion of Kent's box then starts lifting them upwards to the top of that box, with Kent resultantly getting off their chair to do this set of dance moves (OOC note: the routine's between the 00:53 and 01:13 in the linked video) while speak-singing the first run of the song's chorus.

[Chorus]
With those onyx eyes and that silver tongue
You can’t fool me more than once, right?
Lick me once, lick me twice, lick me three times
Up on my neck like a snake gone wild
But don’t you dare to choke me beyond that turning point
‘Cause I might die if you do, babe
As I can see our heart-shaped charms
Reflected in those onyx eyes

Once the portable lift portion's at the top of the box, Kent starts singing the second verse of the song in a mix of Japanese and English as they walk down a flight of stairs in front of their eyes before landing on the stage floor on their knees upon the last lines of that verse.

[Verse 2]
渚のような君の肌の上で
ずっと閉じ込めてた心の鍵がある
Yeah, no hesitation, just cuddle me up
And I’ll cuddle you up too, ‘cause that’s the way love goes

Kent then starts singing the second run of the pre-chorus on their knees before they stand back up with a charismatic gusto upon the word "gold".

[Pre-Chorus]
So now you’ve chosen to play this love game
Well, then, I’ve chosen to do the same
Let’s see how we fare ten minutes on
‘Cause when we’re touching, we only see sparks of gold

The same speak-singing-and-dancing routine from the first run of the chorus then gets repeated for this second run, this time with a bit more of that vampire-like flair.

[Chorus]
With those onyx eyes and that silver tongue
You can’t fool me more than once, right?
Lick me once, lick me twice, lick me three times
Up on my neck like a snake gone wild
But don’t you dare to choke me beyond that turning point
‘Cause I might die if you do, babe
As I can see our heart-shaped charms
Reflected in those onyx eyes

Kent then delivers the song's bilingual bridge section in an emotional yet sweet falsetto reminiscent of the smell of roses...

[Bridge]
งุณริ หิษัณตัฉิ อิง ดัณ
จุ สุด อ็ขุพยั อำ อำพุม
ขิมิ จุ ยำดส็รุ บำขุ ขุณส็รุ
ดัณ ขิมิ ษัรยั จัณ ยักังตัฉิ
Even though the world outside may be cruel
I won’t ask for much of what I don’t have
Just as long as I’ve got you by my side
‘Cause you’re like a shot of pure gold

...before repeating the same routine as before for the final run of the chorus, this time with the maximum gusto possible.

[Chorus]
With those onyx eyes and that silver tongue
You can’t fool me more than once, right?
Lick me once, lick me twice, lick me three times
Up on my neck like a snake gone wild
But don’t you dare to choke me beyond that turning point
‘Cause I might die if you do, babe
As I can see our heart-shaped charms
Reflected in those onyx eyes

Kent then finishes the entire performance in the most prodigal-sounding way they can (including by hitting a run of consecutive non-missed notes with a breathy texture) before shotuing out "Bienvenue! Thank you!" to the entire crowd at Morizécourt.

*OOC note: this cover art contains a picture of Evernight from Honkai: Star Rail

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:09 pm

lyrics aan atmaja, bellakusuma andriani ekawati | music aan atmaja, gugun hendrawan, bayu putra hermansyah
tune Cinta Laura Kiehl - Cloud 9

After a moderate reception at the 124th WorldVision Song Contest, coming 14th in a field of 24, Incess Bella wanted another go. And frankly, with Televisi Republik Fromulya typically participating in the World Hit Festival anyway, it wasn't hard to convince them to return.

Incess Bella, real name Bellakusuma Andriani Ekawati, is a 24-year old Fromulyan celebrity. "Incess" is a Fromulyan diminutive for the word 'princess', and from this Bella derives her stage name. She is the typical modern social media personality, and it reflects through her appearance on music events and talk shows, occasional acting gigs, and ample time spent on social media. Her vlogs (and their resulting social media snippets) regularly gain millions of views, and lately she has also ventured into the F&B industry. Certainly, she is not a no one.

She found out about the World Hit Festival in a meeting with TVRF staff when she was trying to convince them to let her represent Fromulya in WorldVision. She in turn found out about that other IBA event when she was on holiday in another participating country and found herself impressed by the spectacle.

"Hedon" was thus written with that contest in mind, but it should do just fine at the WHF too. The title comes from the word 'hedonistic', and the song talks about a woman who travels far and wide, living lavishly, while in search of love. One could argue this reflected Bella's life story, if only she wasn'y already engaged! The song, with its tropical beat, also features yodeling—an homage to the country she visited—although it doesn't sound like a typical schlager track. Nevertheless, the song has been a hit locally so far.

The atmosphere in Morizécourt was different from Rannk for sure. Things were a bit more... proper. Fancy, perhaps. Even as a visitor, she could tell that life wasn't as laid back around these parts, and the personality of locals were as cold as the morning air. Still, in the WHF bubble and when encountering WHF fans on the street, they were always warm and friendly to her. She has also extensively vlogged and produced content throughout her time here. While her previous WV content has raised awareness about the contest domestically, it has not yet translated to buy-in from the relevant stakeholders to maintain a Fromulyan participation at that contest. At the World Hit Festival, at least, she believes this is more likely to happen.

For the big night, Bella was once again wearing a short, glittery dress which included a wide, fluffy skirt akin to a tutu. The entire look was dominated by the colours black, silver, and neon pink. She also tied her hair into a ponytail. She is to be joined by four female backing dancers who will be wearing a simple, all-black look save for a batik patterned scarf wrapped around their waists with the excess cloth allowed to flow, creating a chic look. There were also two female backing singers, wearing the same thing, hidden away from view.

As the song began, Bella walked on stage and uttered a few words.

Kamulah yang ku mau
Let’s go

She started moving as she sang, while her backing dancers moved even more energetically than she did. Camera angles switched between close up shots of Bella, wide shots of the stage, as well as angled shots of the backing dancers doing their thing. And all throughout this, navy blue and pink colours dominated the staging.

Kenapa salah? Apa salah mencari bintang baru?
Bukan itu maksud aku, ku tak merasa maju
Flying high, merasa “wow”, itulah yang aku mau

Mencari laki-laki
Apakah kamu si lelaki?
Tunjukan aku kalau kau memang top
That’s right

Ku ke sana kemari
Demi mendapatkan cinta
Jadi hedon ‘tuk asmara
Dan ku takkan kembali
Jadi diriku yang dulu
Setelah pengalaman yang baru ini

Overall, Bella seemed like she was having a great time. She was performing with confidence as she once again flew proudly her nation's flag on the international stage. Not literally. As we moved onto the chorus, she and her girls presented a new choreography.

Aku… ku telah terbang tinggi ke angkasa
Menyelam ke perut bumi
Tapi hanya kamulah yang membuatku menyanyi:
Yodelehihu, yodelehihu
Yodelehihu
Kamulah yang ku mau

Right after the chorus, the stage lights muted, allowing for the strobe lights to variably flash to the beat as Bella struck a few poses. The staging of these verses were dominated by these flashy white strobe lights.

Kamu ingin tanya: apa aku nyata?
Ku hanya berkata…
Aku real, okay, let’s deal

(Ku bukan alay) Bukan ani-ani
(Ku bukan jablay) Bukan mucikari
(Tapi ku slay) Gayaku berkelas
Anggun...

And now the colours seep back in as Bella builds tension towards the chorus. When it does finally come, she and her girls repeat the choreography from before.

Ku ke sana kemari
Sebagai diri yang baru
Di hidup baru yang ku impikan ini

Aku… ku telah terbang tinggi ke angkasa
Menyelam ke perut bumi
Tapi hanya kamulah yang membuatku menyanyi:
Yodelehihu, yodelehihu
Yodelehihu
Kamulah yang ku mau

The stage lights went off for a moment, making the venue dark save for a spotlight on Bella. The spidercam slowly zoomed out, turning a medium shot into a wide shot. But then in the last line of the next part, it dramatically zoomed in again.

Demi mendapatkan cinta
Jadi hedon ‘tuk asmara
Yodelehihu, yodelehihu
Yodelehihu, yodelehihu
Kamulah yang ku mau

Now the stage burst in colour again, and a pyro curtain began. Bella and her dancers were dancing more enthusiastically than ever, full of smiles.

Aku… ku telah terbang tinggi ke angkasa
Menyelam ke perut bumi
Tapi hanya kamulah yang membuatku menyanyi:
Yodelehihu, yodelehihu
Yodelehihu
Kamulah yang ku mau

As the pyro curtain came to an end, Bella and her crew introduced a new choreographic sequence in the outro. Bella could move a little more freely because her backing singers were carrying this part vocally. But towards the end, she stood still in pose for a moment, took a few steps forward and sang the last line of the song.

Parara parara pa-ra-ra
Parara parara pa-ra-ra
Parara parara pa-ra-ra
Pram-pam-pey

Parara parara pa-ra-ra
Parara parara pa-ra-ra
Parara parara pa-ra-ra
Oh, kamulah yang ku mau

As the song came to an end, there were pyro shots as Bella and the dancers struck a pose. And just like that, the entry was over. The crowd cheered, and Bella, with all her excitement, could not hold her pose for very long as she was overcome with emotion. Jumping around for a few moments, her girls gathered for a group hug, and then Bella popped her head up. Bringing the mic to her mouth, she said: "THANK YOU! Vote for Fromulya!" before the production began to prepare for the next entry.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:12 pm

lyrics Claudia Barreto | music Tom Shilling; Lukas Sheffield; Mario Durán
tune Kenia Os – Una y Otra Vez

Twenty-four-year-old Claudia Barreto, a ballet student at Juliard in New York City, gained fame in Achaea at the most mundane of reasons: she put the term diosa on her TikTok handle. A Groyper-lite young man on the Internet, failed master’s student-cum-hypermasculine troll with a heavy-handed hype to his grandparents’ glorious Spanish past, Federico Lorca, said that “only God should be named that way” and “it’s offensive that women call themselves ‘goddesses’ when God is a man!” on his daily TikTok screed. In true Achaean fashion, this led to the serial escalation of trying to find clout and engagement over the controversy. Men and women both agreed and disagreed with Lorca’s assertions, not noting the irony of his quite uncommon last name. There were duets, POV’s, dramatic reenactments, assessments from media and the press, and an overwhelming carnival of unnecessary drama played out for over a week, in a way not even Barreto expected.

Of course, she never bothered to change her TikTok handle. Why would she, if it’s raking so much attention—and cash—to pursue her dreams? It would be better if they focused on what she was posting in social media: ballet tips and tricks, some covers, a trend or two, but nothing in the way of becoming an influencer. A struggling arapaimesa in trendy New York City, Barreto came from a well-off family that privileged education and aspiration in her three daughters. Not that they lived enough to afford a New York brownstone, but well-off that Barreto managed to get into Juliard with a full-on scholarship and a visa that allowed her to perform for the New York City Ballet as an understudy once or twice. She planned to take her skills learned and connections back to Achaea where they can be put to great use into developing a new generation of criollo ballet performers.

She also liked singing pop tunes. Oh, and she also broke up with her Brazilian dreambot ballet boyfriend, whom they used to ballet in both dance and bed, which caused enough emotional turmoil that turned into a song, Sin Querer (“Accidentally”), which had a first single that led to talks with the Achaean World Hit Festival delegation to represent the country in Carrelie. It’s catchy and crafty enough that could show how developed the country’s pop scene has become. (If all else fails, the sponsorships could determine company goals for the next few years.)

Claudiosa always heard from Carellians in Achaea (and those in New York City) that their people were not as intense as the Spaniards, not as stuck-up as the French, and not as welcoming as the Italians. Before Morizécourt, Claudia only traveled by boat to Port Anilis once or twice when she was a child for day trips with the family. No wonder she couldn’t feel that pseudo-European vibe of Port Anilis in this side of the world! The wine was delicious and the olives fantastic. The walks through the cobblestone streets and the late-night clubs brought her an interesting sense of peace…and a form of inspiration for future songs. Maybe she can get over him, even though she was likely the problematic one? It makes sense in context, you’ll see soon enough.

She was dressed in practicing ballerina garb. She had a blue leotard with leg warmers, and black leather shoes. Her look was quite understated compared to the five other ballet performers on stage, all of them using pink tutus and small plastic tiaras with buns on their heads. When the song began, all the dancers were doing their plié on a long metal bar next to a mirror that also turned out to have LED graphics at the same time. With a baton in her hand, Claudiosa looked like a stern ballet teacher with a strong, yet soft hand at looking over her charges. (No, she will waltz to the whole stage en pointe and sing about bad Grindr hookups.)

Era el viento, todo al revés
Una humillación ladrona
Tal poema lo hice sin querer
Yo fui una ladrona

Si tú supieras
Que tengo los mensajes que tú me escribiste

The chorus came, and Claudiosa quickly took off her hairpin, releasing her hair while the ballet dancers were doing their en pointes and pliés next to her. The lighting around the stage highlighted the dancers doing their ballet around the stage without losing focus on Claudiosa. They led her to do en pointe for a few seconds, a sauté (that’s why she needed to wear those slightly tight ballet shoes) and another plié. It was important not to lose track of the main point of the song: she needed to portray contriteness while dancing, following her regret for cheating on her boyfriend with her best friend. It was accidental, both were drunk, it was New Year’s Eve and he was spending it with his family in Rio. Not her proudest moment, and this caused a significant rift in everyone’s friendships once he returned from Brazil, breaking up weeks later after a quite public crash out in a speakeasy in Manhattan. Thankfully this crash out was not captured on social media; the viral fall-out and the TikToks was not what anybody needed to move on.

Ayer dormía, pero desperté
Como un amigo, yo quise serte fiel
Andas herido, todo esto
Fue sin culpa, fue sin, sin querer
Ayer dormía, pero desperté
Como un amigo, yo quise serte fiel
Andas herido, todo esto
Fue sin culpa, fue sin, sin querer

She had to provide important justifications in this refrain. Yes, he was loving, intense, and passionate. Yes, he took her to the most important restaurants and places and hangouts in New York City (this is why the window showing the LED screens had a stylized skyline of the Big Apple, almost a caricature of what fostered the scene, just like the music video). He did everything he could to make her happy…but for some reason that wasn’t enough. She needed thrills, adventure, engagement, fun that this man couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to provide. But then came the holidays, where she was alone, spent and homesick. Nothing justified what she did, but it happened and she had no choice but to face the consequences. Yes, it was accidental, but was it really accidental?

¿Eran citas o salidas, ese vino amargo?
Tenía tu cartera vencida
Rechacé tantos pasos, los tiernos abrazos
Todo en mí lo descuidaría
No era mentira, no éramos nada
Agosto y septiembre, todo continuaba
Yo te segúia, pero tú te alejabas

Once again, the chorus came. Already with her hair down, Claudiosa moved around the stage while the ballet dancers beside her completed their en pointes and pliés and sautés. The ballet dancers on her right (or the Multiversal viewer’s left) moved clockwise, as if they were dancing toys from The Nutcracker; the ballet dancers on her right (or the Multiversal viewer’s right) moved counterclockwise. One of the dancers, the one behind Claudiosa’s back, bent her body to the front, leaving her arms extended and her body taut and limp, as if she were a convincingly broken doll. This provided the elements necessary to symbolize the brokenness inherent in Claudiosa’s relationship with her boyfriend—the broken trust on her part, the self-inserted misery of her bad choices, the pain of her self-imposed loneliness. Yes, it was “accidental,” but was the thrill of the betrayal worth it?

Ayer dormía, pero desperté
Como un amigo, yo quise serte fiel
Andas herido, todo esto
Fue sin culpa, fue sin, sin querer
Ayer dormía, pero desperté
Como un amigo, yo quise serte fiel
Andas herido, todo esto
Fue sin culpa, fue sin, sin querer

Todo fue algo accidental
Todos somos fallos al pecar

In the final chorus, the dancers surrounded Claudiosa with a mixture of ballet and voguing moves, a cacophony of class and crass that filled the stage with pastel colors. She fell short in her relationship. They fell short. We all fell short. We all fell short from the glory of God…but we’re not talking about God at this time, right? It was an accident. A delicious accident, but it cost her happiness for a few months. Now he won’t even talk to her, despite having asked his forgiveness and another go in their relationship. Understandable, but his loss at the same time. She needed to move on with that scarlet letter in her relationship history—provoked by herself, no less—but it was time to move on and grow.

Ayer dormía, pero desperté
Como un amigo, yo quise serte fiel
Andas herido, todo esto
Fue sin culpa, fue sin, sin querer
Ayer dormía, pero desperté
Como un amigo, yo quise serte fiel
Andas herido, todo esto
Fue sin culpa, fue sin, sin querer

“Thank you! Merci! ¡Muchas gracias! Thank you so much, Morizécourt!” Claudiosa tried her best at speaking Spanish, English and French in lightning speed. The dancers went all in formation and did a small plié and bow to the audience in gratitude. There were cheers to the crowd, some from the Achaeans, others from supporters from across the Multiverse. Maybe that mistake wasn’t accidental. Maybe that led her to this special moment.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:15 pm

lyrics Sienna Raye, Jake Apollo | music Jacob Hayes, Jake Apollo, Justyna Burrows
tune KIKI - Rakkaudenkipee

After placing second behind eventual winners Carrelie, BVC is trying to strike what would be twelfth victory at the World Hit Festival...

Sienna Raye was Britonisea’s Roman Goddess, and she was dressed as such ahead of what would be her showstopping performance on the Carrelie stage. There were Roman arches placed around the stage, some of them had fallen as though an earthquake had just caused a lot of damage. Sienna sat in the middle of the wreckage wearing a white and gold stola, with a wreath of some sort in her hair - looking heavenly and divine but her facial expressions gave away that she was devastated by the scenery around her. The lower portion of the stage was filled with smoke but not enough to block the wreckage while the scenery around her was a Roman bakground, with a murky, cloudy backdrop which looked like something out of Hell. While Carrelie’s stage did not have capabilities to have LED pictures, that was something the broadcaster was willing to get - they bought one to place in front of the rear end of the stage. She was ready for her performance and at the end of the postcard, there was great applause for Britonisea. Given the nation placed second last edition, Sienna had felt an undeniable weight on her shoulders going into this performance, but she was ready to go ahead and show the world what she is made of. At the end of the rambunctious applause, there was silence as the music started. With the strong start of the song and the backing vocals, the lights flickered all around her as though lightning was coming from all corners of the stage. Alongside that, the cameras cut to different parts of her body in a close up at each “Ay”, before fading to black in between. As the music progressed, it focused on her face. Sienna's face make up was heavy, but not overbearing. She had dark eye liner on which brought out some of her facial features, powerful and strong and almost looking for some sort of redemption. She started singing, bringing the microphone to her mouth and starting with a slightly quiet but velvety tone.

Ay, Ay
Ay, Ay

Lived a life hiding in the shadows,
Too afraid to come out and play-
I’m done, done (done, done)
It’s my time to shine.
I know the road is long, it’s treacherous
But how can I grow without seeing the light, light?
(light light)

As she sang the lyrics, “light”, she stood up, facing away from the audience with a red spot shown behind her. The lights around her died down a little bit, with there being a focus on her staring at the spot that was now in front of her. A Steadicam joined her on the stage, placing itself in between her and the LED screen with the camera circling around her once. Then as they were about to do it a second time, Sienna stopped, now facing the audience as the Steadicam swooped off the stage. As another camera met her gaze, the wind machine was gently turned on with her hair being slightly blown in the wind. Mixed gender dancers started to appear all around her, dressed quite similarly to her from different corners of the stage and beneath the fallen wreckage as the fog started to dissipate on the stage.

Gotta keep on moving forward,
No hesitating.
It’s time to take centre stage,
The world’s waiting.

The future is unknown,
I know that is scary.
Took the leap of faith,
I won’t be left behind.

As she finishes the pre-chorus, the shot fades to white before it is taken over by a long shot, which exposes the whole stage before zooming quickly into what is happening. All the dancers make wide body movements in unison as the chorus begins. The lighting on the stage started to twinkle as we reached the first climax of the song, albeit a short one. The flickering lights complimented the dancing and her own movements which were a less dramatic version of what those around her were doing. As she was singing she was maintaining eye contact forwards, with the camera shot bouncing between a shot within her gaze and out of it.

Day or night, endure (end-ure, end-ure)
I’ll fight to the end (the end)
Don’t care how long it takes, (ay, it takes)
Yeah, I’ll reach the apex. (apex, apex)
(Apex)

Don’t you underestimate me,
I’m a force, leaving a wake of destruction (ay, ay)
And I won’t slow down.
There’s no mountain too tall,
I’ll fly high above them all.
There’s no ocean too wide,
So my confidence won’t fall.
There’s no ditch too deep,
I know I won’t stall.

The section from the first chorus to the next verse was a quick one, almost immediate. During this, section, the scenery turned to an orange-y hue and while it did not look as hellish as it did before, it certainly was equally as menacing. She continued singing the second verse, lifting her arms as she sings “leading a wave of destruction,” something that you could definitely see that she did with everything that is going on stage - she let out a gentle smile assuming that those watching would have seen the destruction she left behind. The orange strobe lights were swirling around the stage, like a bunch of lighthouses searching for boats in the night sky, adding to the mystery and storybuilding of the plot. As we head to the faster bit of that verse, images kept appearing on the screen behind her of what she was singing, with angel wings appearing behind her before a water wave appeared on the stage and as the verse finished, it splashed onto the stage with visual effects making it look 3D and a feast for the eyes. We then move into another chorus.

Day or night, I’ll endure (end-ure, end-ure)
I’ll fight to the end (the end)
Don’t care how long it takes (long it takes)
Yeah, I’ll reach the apex. (apex, apex)
(Apex)

[Breakdown]

Similarly to the last chorus, the dancers reappeared on the stage, dancing in a swaying motion to the beat of the song, with the camera movements smooth to coincidence with the elegance of the performance. The lights appeared brighter on the stage as well as the “water” from the ocean dried away quickly. The low flying smoke once again appeared on the stage all in preparation for the next bit of the song. The chorus was then met with a breakdown section, during this section, the dancers broke off into two corners of the stage. The stage plunged into deeper more menacing colour tones, with flashing lights on both sets of dancers who seemed they were fighting in a choreographed way.

As we moved to the final section before the final chorus, the pieces of the fallen wreckage started moving into the sky very slowly. She stood in the middle of the wreckage flying above her under a bright light. The wind was blowing gently towards her, with a singular camera shot just focused on her, slowly progressing forwards as we moved closer to the final chorus - all the attention was on her alone. As the final chorus camera, there was a wide shot of the whole stage, with lights shining from behind her, strobing and flashing at an intense rate matching the intense and vigour of the instrumentation in the final thirty seconds of the song. This, alongside the placement of the risen wreckage made for an exquisite display which looked cool especially on camera.

Gotta keep on moving forward,
No hesitation.
I took the leap of faith,
I won’t be left behind.

Day or night, I’ll endure (end-ure, end-ure)
I’ll fight to the end (the end, the end)
I’ll reach the apex. (apex, apex)
(Apex)

At the end of the song, she let out one final line that the crew had put an extra echo effect on. The echo rang throughout the whole auditorium as she stood there powerfully by herself on the stage. As the audience came in with a big cheer, she smiled with glee. “Thank you so much for this, I love you all!” She exclaimed openly to the audience before we moved on to the next proceedings.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:18 pm

lyrics S. Lautorinev, C. Tanetzdrova | music V. Horowitz, C. Tanetzdrova
tune Sissal - Hallucination

Cesilja Morskasole Alexandria Tanetzdrova, known mononymously as Cesilja, is a Natanyan singer. Born 16th March 1998 in Leshinahvtosk, a historic market town turned large commuter exurb of the nearby capital Nightton. The third of four in a middle-class family, Cesilja was always the more “artsy” child, avoiding middle child syndrome by simply commanding attention every time she walked in the room. Her parents honed this natural attraction to the limelight from a young age, transferring music lessons to her from her much less interested older brother and allowing her to also join a children’s amateur dramatics club as a tween, in lieu of the personal acting tutor she asked for that they couldn’t afford. Naturally, this adolescent hobby developed into academic study, Cesilja taking drama as part of her school exams, and taking an independent singing certification via her tutor.

As an adult, Cesilja has continued her love for the performing arts, although primarily as a hobby, performing in local community choirs while working as a drama teacher at one of her hometown’s secondary schools. After falling pregnant last year, with a due date towards the end of the school holidays, Cesilja took the extended break to revisit her love of music. Spurred on by singing nursery rhymes to her newborn daughter, she especially took interest into honing her singing voice outside of the scope of an occasional choir solo role. Collaborating with an old school friend and fellow teacher, Viktor Horowitz, whom had gone into music production in college. The pair worked on multiple demos and cover versions, not intended for actual release but just as exercises to hone their skills and gain experience in more professional music production and recording. The duo was later joined by another of their colleges, Sabrina Lautorinev, one of the school’s Literature teachers and a fellow hobbyist musician.

It was Sabrina who informed Cesilja of an open call for both songs and performers for NTVR for an “undisclosed international appearance”. Initially unsure, due to her commitments as a new mother, Cesilja put herself forward as a solo performer through the company website’s application process after encouragement from her fiancé, submitting a mash-up of some of the raw acapella recordings from her and Viktor’s earlier sessions. Separately, the trio of teachers worked on an original to be their other submission, one for the song submissions. Viktor primarily working on the instrumental, Sabrina took to forming the lyrics and Cesilja overviewed and helped with both. They eventually came up with a 3-minute demo they tentatively titled ‘Dream’. A punchy dance-pop with lyrics tackling the uncertainty we can feel around feelings of love, in parts inspired by Cesilja’s new motherhood and the strain it has on her relationship, Sabrina’s recent divorce and subsequent retry into the dating scene and, admittedly, the girl’s shared love of cheesy romance dramas with this kind of whirlwind romance plot. The demo was submitted under Viktor’s name, the group hoping his few credits on some smaller releases may help their chances.

Months after the deadline date for submissions has passed, and so has Cesilja’s maternity leave, the trio has assumed the radio silence meant they hadn’t been picked, and as the school year picked up, had mostly gotten back to their usual academic lives. That was until a rather quiet Wednesday in which, within an hour of each other, two emails hit Cesilja and Viktor’s personal email inboxes. Cesilja, having a free hour to check, saw hers immediately. Feeling like one of her students opening up exam results, equal parts nervous and excited, she immediately got to reading. Her mashed-up demo of random bits of singing had somehow impressed the judges after all, and she’d passed to the next round, live auditions at the network’s headquarters. Overjoyed but having to contain her excitement to her classroom, she took the lunch hour to find Viktor in the staff room and tell him the news. Checking his own inbox immediately afterwards to find a fresh email of his own from not even 5 minutes ago, and that email read much the same, the demo has made an internal shortlist and composers are encouraged to finalise their submissions into fully fledged productions ready for commercial release. From that evening, both got to work preparing, with Sabrina offering moral support.

Another couple of weeks pass until the day of the second round and then, for the relatively local duo, a little day trip into the capital for their second-round appointments at the headquarters. It had landed on a school day, and so Sabrina had offered to stay back and work as to not upset the school with too many holidaying teachers to find cover work for. Technically, so could have Viktor, with the producers able to drop their final mixes in at any time of the allotted open window, but he decided to come along anyway to kill two birds with one stone, and get himself a day off too. After a quick morning of sightseeing, they head into the office for Cesilja’s allotted time, 2:35pm. Viktor stays to talk through the application details with the secretary as Cesilja follows a producer to a small studio. To her horror the live audition is not just a live performance, but a set performance of one of 5 songs pre-selected by the company, with only a piano as accompaniment. Thankfully there’s a couple she recognises, so she picks up a lyric sheet and just tries her best. After two songs, one of the judges gives a quick “thank you, we’ll be in touch” and that’s that, over as soon as it started, which does not fill her with confidence.

Yet again, the wait is weeks of radio silence. And then, on a quiet Tuesday lunchtime, Cesilja’s phone rings. Unknown number. Geolocation: Nightton. This could be it after all; she waves over Viktor and Sabrina who sit near with baited breath as she answers the phone. It is indeed an NTVR executive and he immediately goes into detail of what the actual process has all been for. Natanya is returning to the World Hit Festival, or is at least planning to attempt to. The application process was to find a relative unknown or up-and-coming singer as potential to represent the nation at the 82nd edition of the contest, now known to be hosted in Morizécourt, Carrelie. Cesilja felt her knees getting weak at the thought of such a large stage. But then he said it, she’d won the ticket, she had first refusal to be the Natanyan representative. Without second thought she blurted out “YES! I mean, of course, it’d be an honour”. He went on to explain that they had a small shortlist of songs without artists attached for her if she so pleased to hear them, but being that her name was already credited in one of their songs, they figured she’d prefer to stick to that one, now titled “Dream or Nightmare” in it’s finished state. She confirmed that choice as well, saying she’d double check when she comes back to Nightton, but it’s likely going to be her final decision. “See you soon, we’ll email you the next details” and then he clicks off. She explains everything to the other two, and their audible excitement fills the air. Not contained to their table, it even alerts some of the kids in the corridor outside of the staff room, confused as to what’s going on in there. Not that these three care, after all, they’re going to Carrelie.

The final moments of Natanya’s postcard flash across the screen as the the stage comes back into view and ready’s up for the oncoming performance. Cesilja takes position in the dark, as do her dancers, following hidden markers on the LED floor. Stage hands rush off the stage and the stedicam camera-men get ready for their shots. Looking out into the crowd, Cesilja sees a sea of lights, barely even recognisable as people. Just phones, flags and thoughts. Not that they could see her either, a mutual understanding of knowing without seeing. She takes a deep breath in and closers her eyes as the whole world grinds to a halt. They muttering of fans, squeaking of shoes and the producers nattering codes and orders into her earpiece all melded into static. Despite the reputation she built for herself as bubbly and care-free, she had to admit, she was nervous, terrified even. The biggest stage yet, probably ever, and definitely the most pressure on a performance since her music exams in school. If she was going to smash it, now was the time.

The Carrelian producer in her ear counting down finally snaps her back into the moment, the stage-ready had finished, it was time. As soon as the first note hits her earpiece, Cesilja snaps the microphone up to her mouth and looks forward into the camera placed directly in front of her, beginning the first verse while singing directly the viewers at home as she fades into focus. The second half of the first chorus cuts to a further out panning camera as the original Steadicam guy ducks out of shot. A flash of light to coincide with the instrumentation, then all the stage’s many LEDs return to the neon styled patterns as the camera panned left to right, just above the heads of that muttering crowd, now silenced and focused on the performance before them.

I sit here waiting,
Waiting for a sign,
If our hearts are really intertwined.
Is it true love,
Or just a delusion?
A push and pull of us and all we are.

Into the pre-chorus, the camera snaps to the set of stairs on the right-hand side, and then again to the left, both times revealing previously hidden dancers posing. The first dressed in all black with purple trimmings, the second in all white with gold highlights, both wearing Venetian carnival styled masks and representing the titular dream and nightmare respectively. Cutting back to a body shot of Cesilja, still singing to the camera, she, and the camera, then turn to the “dream” for answers, before facing the “nightmare” for questions, both dancers reaching their arms out down towards her on their turns on-screen. Turning away from both and grabbing her head in faux-pain, the camera panning further towards Cesilja’s face as the song enters its main refrain. Cesilja slowly reopening her eyes and again singing directly to the television viewers, acting an expression of confusion and worry on her face as she reaches out a hand towards the camera, signalling a call for help as the now dimmed LEDs and lights seem to entrap the focus entirely on her.

My indignation, yearning elation,
The things you do to me,
Wanting the answers,
But gaining more questions,
Baby, I’m losing my mind.

Trapped in a dream, or a nightmare.
A dream, or a nightmare.

Into the short and sweet second verse, Cesilja ‘reawakens’, as does the brightness of the lights themselves. She walks over to the left-hand stairs, the dream dancer descending daintily towards her. The camera then cuts to over her shoulder, showing the much less elegant nightmare crawling down the right stairs. Both now on the stage proper beside Cesilja, the two dancers spend their time in the second pre-chorus warring with each other, and over Cesilja. A semi-interpretative style dance of influence, the dream and nightmare play a tug of war, sometimes literally and physically, over Cesilja, who in the middle tried to balance the two, herself and her singing all at the same time, at this point completely, though deliberately, ignoring the multiple cameras around them, alternative between different body-shot angles of the choreographed chaos happening on stage.

I’m confused, is this really love so brazen?
Or are you nothing but my hallucination?

My indignation, yearning elation,
The things you do to me,
Wanting the answers,
But gaining more questions,
Baby, I’m losing my mind.

Into the full version of the earlier refrain, two more dancers emerge from behind the stairs to join the trio already centre stage. The four dancers dance around Cesilja in an almost ritualistic pattern, with the farthest forward making sure to crouch down as they pass her as to not block her view into the cameras or audience. Cesilja herself stays stationary in the middle, but occasionally interacts with the dancers through expressions, gestures and touches, while also acknowledging the camera and audience. The backing LEDs displaying interlocking and mixing colours of whites, blacks and pastels flowing like coloured water into each other and down the stairs.

Trapped in a dream, or a nightmare.
A dream, or a nightmare.
My heart you, you ensnare.
A dream, or a nightmare.

As the instrumentation ramps up for the song’s bridge, the dancers all disperse from Cesilja’s sides, now dancing and tumbling away from her in 4 different directions, a Steadicam operator weaving his way through and around all of them for the viewing audience at home. Cesilja interacts with the camera as it circles her, and then marches towards the front-centre edge of the of stage, preparing for the climax of the song. Off-stage backing singers, and some of the dancers with hidden microphones in their masks, sing the backing vocals as an outwardly zooming camera displays the whole stage, LEDs and spotlight flashing and pulsating to the techno beat of the track.

Gasping for air, lover’s despair,
Am I really on the road to nowhere?
Are you waiting there?
(Gasping for air, lover’s despair, dream or nightmare?)
A dream or a nightmare?
(Gasping for air, lover’s despair, dream or nightmare?)

The dancers and spotlights alike gather around Cesilja going into the final chorus of the song. Reaching out from behind her, towards the crowd and the stars. Lights forming a semi-circle around the back of the performers. Cesilja completely in herself, eyes closed preparing for the big climactic note of the song. As she belts it out, spark pyrotechnics erupt from the edge of the stage, creating tall fountains of silver and gold either side of Cesilja and along to the edges of the stage. The spotlights now return to the crowd, as if being blown away by the power of the note, now descending on the stadium in waves of white and pastel blues and purples. Cesilja, completely lost in her singing at this pivotal final section, is completely static at this point, eyes closed and focused on getting it right. Thankfully her dancers keep the motion of the performance intact, dancing in a flowing motion from their positions, equal distances from her and each other across the main stage. The camera in these parts cutting between sweeping arena-wide shots of the stage and audience, emphasising the scale of the extravagance, to more intimate close-up shots showcasing Cesilja’s focus on these final lines.

Trapped in a dream, or a nightmare.
A dream, or a nightmare.
Tell me,
Tell me, dream or nightmare?
Trapped in a dream, or a nightmare.
A dream, or a nightmare.

The pyrotechnic fountains shrink and die off as Cesilja belts out one final long note, actually singing for slightly longer than the backing track plays in her attempt to impress the professional and amateur judges from around the world. Finally finished with some of the most important, and most watched, minutes of her life, she can finally breathe a very big sigh of relief. She’s proud of what she’s achieved, getting this far in the first place, but also of her performance, one worthy of the stage she’s stood on. Gave it her all, remembered her lines and no bum notes, no major ones at least. Surrounded by her dancers, who were waving or bowing after their own performances, she shouts out to the now cheering crowd, “Thank you! Danke! Merci!” and bows herself. She still can’t really make out anyone in particular, all the bright lights and cameras before her, but again, she knows their there, a mutual understanding of thanks without seeing. The cameras dim and the audio from the intermission to the next segment begins to play, and as such is time for Cesilja’s departure. She initially turns the wrong way to leave, before noticing the direct all four dancers are walking and quickly turning to follow them. Waving to some of the fans sat near to the stage exit, she hugs all of her dancers once they are out of sight and out of way of the assists rushing to prepare the next act. One by one, and then a group hug, now featuring Viktor and Sabrina, who had run down from the green room. Walking back to their designated green room, she texts her family asking them what they all thought, knowing that it was now all up to fate anyway.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:21 pm

lyrics Rita Book | music Rita Book
tune Lara Fabian - Je Veux Danser

Ohohoh ohohohohoh
Ohohoh ohohohohoh

The lights in the arena dim.

Rita stands just off-centre, close to the front of the stage, her breath quivering in anticipation.

A gentle breeze ripples through her satin midnight-rose gown, setting the fabric trembling softly in the low light.

She raises the microphone and begins; her voice cool, intimate, and unforced.

The opening shot starts behind her, the camera tracking her movement with quiet intent.

Across the LED screens, blurred points of light drift past, forming abstract cityscapes that suggest motion, distance, and possibility.

As her wordless vocal echoes into the vastness of the arena, the steadicam slowly swings around her, revealing her face for the first time.

She emerges from the darkness fully present, as the final “ohohoh”s hang in the air and the journey begins.

Walking around
The wrong side of town
Keep trying to be so nonchalant

As the verse begins, Rita steps forward quietly and without pretence. Her steps seem deliberate as though guided along an unseen path.

The stage lighting warms subtly, shifting into soft ambers and muted rose tones that seem to gently shimmer around her.

The camera settles into a gentle side dolly, keeping her in frame as she walks, reinforcing the sense of motion suggested by the lyrics.

Behind her, the LED screens deepen into impressionistic nighttime streets; shadows, passing lights, fleeting shapes.

In Rita's eyes, a quiet tension flickers as she sings directly into the camera.

I keep holding back
My heart's gonna crack
When I see you walk in the restaurant

Rita slows.

The camera moves closer, tightening in to a medium shot that captures her face.

She raises an eyebrow, knowingly. As her heart's gonna crack

The LED backdrop melts. The implicqtion of a cityscape dissolving into warmer, hues of amber. Glimmers and glints of light and shadow seem to sparkle around the stage beside her.

As she sings her vouce is strong but warm.

But, and only for a brief second, her eyes betray her. As something takes her back to the restaurant in Yerevan.

Then music sweeps her forward once more.

I can't speak
Words seem to disappear
I can't eat
My soul's full when you're near
I can't wait
Though I sit here in silence

Rita comes to a complete stop at centre stage.

The forward motion that has carried her through the previous verse falls away. Now there is nothing but stillness.

The lighting narrows into a soft halo, punctuating her against the darkness. Its focus to draw the attention of the audience.

The camera closes in, settling into an intimate close-up that allows the audience to observe every nuance of her expression.

On and around the stage, LEDs dim creating a slow, drifting glow that seems to breathe in and out with the music.

I know l waited forever
Just to have you here with me
And I will follow wherever
You can lead me across the seven seas

To the ends of the earth, I follow you
I'd climb up to heaven, if you asked me to
I don't know if it's true, but my heart beats for you,
We can, go walking in Yerevan

Rita begins to move forward again.

The lighting seems to shimmer and glow around her. Warm golds and soft blush tones spill across the stage.

The camera pulls back in to a wide shot, allowing the audience to take in the full scale of the glorious stage as the chorus begins.

With each line, the LED screens alter and swirl into sweeping colours associated with Yerevan; pinks and whites, apricots and bronze.

On “across the seven seas,” cooler blues ripple gently through the floor LEDs, before dissolving back into warmth as she sings of following to the ends of the earth.

As Rita reaches “I’d climb up to heaven, if you asked me to,” the camera circles her slowly, catching the shimmer of her gown as it moves with her.

Her voice lifts, eyes fixed forward.

On the final line,“We can go walking in Yerevan”, the LED floor ignites beneath her feet, forming a glowing path, with hints of traditional Armenia symbolism, that stretches out into the darkness.

She steps onto the pathway.

Ohohoh ohohohohoh
Let's go walking in Yerevan
Ohohoh ohohohohoh

The glowing pathway beneath Rita’s feet pulses gently with every step she takes.

The camera rises, a sweeping crane shot, revealing the full extent of the stage. And an overhead (oblique) view of the glowing pathway cutting through the darkness of the arena.

Above and behind her, the LED screens deepen and darken.

As Rita sings “Let’s go walking in Yerevan,” she moves further along the illuminated path. The satin of her midnight-rose gown catching the golden light of the pathway with every step.

The camera gently descends again into a closer frame of Rita .

The night's drawing in
Somehow it begins
When you slip your hand right in to mine

And I know it's okay
You won't let me stray
When I feel our fingers intertwine

As the music moves into the verse, the energy changes. Becoming more intimiate, more personal.

The lights dim further, the warm golds deepening into richer ambers and dusky rose tones, as if the night is closing around Rita and the stage.

Rita slows her pace along the glowing pathway, her movements becoming smaller.

The camera drifts alongside her in a smooth tracking shot, holding her in a medium frame that allows both her expression and the illuminated floor (which is now almoat the only light illuminating the stage) beneath her to remain visible.

On the LED screens, the lights soften into blurred constellations. Hinting at quiet streets and windows glowing against the dark.

As she sings "When you slip your hand right into mine", Rita gently raises her free hand her fingers curling round grasping for the hand.

By the time she reaches “our fingers intertwine,” the camera has moved closer again, capturing the warmth in her expression.

I can't speak
Words seem to disappear
I can't eat
My soul's full when you're near
I can't wait
Though I sit here in silence

I knew I waited forever
Just to have you here with me
And I will follow wherever
You can lead me across the seven seas

To the ends of the earth, I follow you
I'd climb up to heaven, if you asked me to
I don't know if it's true, but my heart beats for you,
We can, go walking in Yerevan

The camera moves into a close up as she sings the pre-chorus.

Rita comes to a stop once more. But instead of being static, the pathway beneath her swirls around her, like the yellow brick road circling and then it expands across the whole stage.

A soft wind catches her gown, billowing the fabric.

The camera begins to widen. The stage now aglow in golden apricot hues. By the time she sings “I’d climb up to heaven, if you asked me to,” the lighting fills the arena.

On the final line, “We can go walking in Yerevan,” the pathway seems to, thanks to the wonder of augmented reality, burst forward shooting out over the audience into the auditorium.

Ohohoh ohohohohoh
Let's go walking in Yerevan
Ohohoh ohohohohoh

As the music comes to an end. Rita lowers the microphone, holding her position at the centre of the stage.

The lights soften, easing from gold into a gentle amber glow.

She takes in the arena for a brief moment, before quietly but sincerely saying “Thank you.”

As she does, she places a hand lightly against her chest and lets the applause ring out.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:23 pm

lyrics Roman Minseok Kwon, Katerina "Aquarina" Kim | music Katerina "Aquarina" Kim
tune Crush, SUMIN - UP ALL NITE

[Verse 1: Roman Kwon]
Dancing away
I feel the trance when I go all day
Just me and my crew, yeah we on the way
Drink the pain away cause all you do is play
But all I know is one thing

The performance starts with a camera view of a car window, being tinted black and showing no view and strobe lights bouncing off of it, before Roman started singing, the car window rolls down and he puts his hand on the steering wheel and the other hand he sings with a microphone as the song starts.

[Chorus: Roman Kwon]
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
Da-ri-da-ri-ra-da-ri-ra-da

As the song progresses to the chorus, roman steps out of the car, closing the door behind him and dancers would rush onto the stage which revealed a set of a street and as the set was revealed which also mimicked the facade of a house, and more street lights came on one by one and backup dancers would flood the stage.

[Pre-Chorus: Roman Kwon]
A little disappointed (Disappointed)
Cause you were ever all I wanted (All I wanted)
But yeah eventually I knew this day would come (Ha)
So let’s stop pretending, that we had it all
Yeah I dont wanna be fake no more
Cause this life is short
Im simply better off without you

As the dancers appeared on the stage, they all danced to the song and Roman would dance and sing in the middle of the street, and the LED screen behind the entire set would flash from black and white as well as the lightpoles in the street as the song reached the chorus

[Chorus: Roman Kwon]
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)

As the prchorus ended and the song headed back into the verse, he walked onto the top of one of the cars, and started hitting the choreography with the dancers all while singing, and as he continued to sing, the dancers got in a line on the street and started to dance in sync while he danced ontop of the car. As the chorus ended, the set began to turn and reveal the inside of the house, and as the set flipped to the inside of the house, the set would reveal Aquarina sitting on the couch of the house.

[Verse 2: Aquarina]
Yeah I know too, you aint mine
I know it’s true, wont waste my time
Just do us justice, and we will be just fine
Reclaiming my time
Taking it real high, baby I’ve got time now (Woo-ooh-ah)
I dont need you (Mm-mm), yeah I know I’ll be cool (Mm-mm)
Yeah I’ve grown now, Changing my tune (Mm-mm)
Dont wanna be fake no more, this life is short
And I am simply better without you

As she was singing her verse of the song, the partygoers/dancers in the house would dance to the beat of the song. As she reached the middle of her verse, she walked and stood on the table that stood at the center of the home. As the chorus reached its end, she stood at the center of the table continuing to sing, as Roman opened the door to the house, walking in singing the chorus as Aquarina also did, and then they walked to opposite sides of the house as the house party continued.

[Pre-Chorus: Roman Kwon & Aquarina]
A little disappointed (Disappointed)
Cause you were ever all I wanted (All I Wanted)
But yeah eventually I knew this day would come
So let’s stop pretending, that we had it all
Yeah I dont wanna be fake no more
Cause this life is short
Im simply better off without you

As they both reached the chorus, they both started doing the choreography from opposite sides of the house singing to eachother as the partygoers continued to dance around them, mingling with one another as the performance continued on, as they reached the ending of the chorus and the song, all of the house started to do the same choreography as Aquarina and Roman.

[Chorus: Roman Kwon, Aquarina]
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright (Uh)
Im simply better off without you
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright
It’s alright, yeah I know it’s alright

As Roman and Aquarina started to end their song, they walked towards eachother as they sang and the dancers continued to dance and they walked infront of the dancers and as the song ended, they turned their backs towards eachother, folding their arms both posing as the song ended and two fireworks pyrotechnics would go off above the house, and Roman would look over his sunglasses as he posed and Aquarina twirled her hair, and they both exclaimed. “Thank you World Hit Festival!”

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:26 pm

lyrics Hernando Gandhi Purwata, Yulia Aristya | music Ridwan Faradian, Hernando Gandhi Purwata
tune Alexander Stewart, Lauren Spencer Smith - Friends Don't

It has come to the norm that the winner of BRTV will be participated in an international song contest just like the previous one, Ria Karmelia with her song 'Dua Dunia' who competed in 123rd Worldvision Song Contest. However, as the organizer hope for a steady participation, some misunderstanding arise which makes the country miss the deadline for the next edition of the competition. To avoid being judged for their mistake, the organizer made excuse that the winning song of 2026 BRTV is more compatible to compete in World Hit Festival. Hence, the organizer then signup the winning song 'Love Don't' to the 82nd World Hit Festival which is held in Carrelie after the country won the previous edition. Despite the little scandal (which didn't known widely), the decision to enter World Hit Festival has been met with positive feedback. Some fans acknowledge the festival's long history and despite its declining participation but for them (the fans), it feels more intimate.

Knowing about their participation in World Hit Festival, both Nando and Karin welcome the decision happily. Nando during an interview said that it would be a great start for him in international stage. He hope he can give the best for the country. A similar gesture was mentioned by Karin who feels joyous about the decision. She really didn't care if they will represent the country in either Worldvision Song Contest or World Hit Festival, as long as the organizer stay true to their mission to introduce Matawis music to the international audience. And she believe it can be achieve through international song contest.

The song 'Love Don't' is an original song created for Nando and Karin Melia following their selection as the representative of Pakunagara to the 2026 BRTV. Nando work together with his close friend, Yulia Aristya to create the lyrics. Throughout the making of the song, the lyric face a huge change. Aristya first take the theme of abusive love as the base of the song with the title has been set, Love Don't which means love will not abuse. However, Nando feels the song would be too dark to be perform on BRTV stage. He wants a lighter tone and Aristya came with a new idea, lovers that try to stick together despite their love has lost its spark. With the new theme, the lyric was rewritten. Nando then working on the arrangement with Ridwan Faradian who introduced to him by Karin. Faradian have had working with Karin in her previous song. Together, Nando and Faradian develop a light tone to cover a somewhat depressing theme. Nando keeps suggesting to make the song less dark. Fortunately, Faradian can assure him with his rendition.

The song was favorited and received a high streaming on online platform on its release as introduction and promotion video to 2026 BRTV competition. In the competition, they performed in the second semifinal with some hard opponents from United Kieraha and North Tomini. They qualify to final after finished second in their semifinal below Amanda Manuhuty from North Tomini. In final, they performed better (based on review by some critics) which believed to elevate their voting position and garnered them the trophy.

Hernando Gandhi Purwata or known for his stage name Nando was born in Junggalu, the second largest city in the Empire and the largest in Pakunagara. He begin his musical career in 2001 at the age of 25 in a duo together with Krisna Balawan, a musician from Mahameru. Together they produce 4 albums and several Anugerah Musik Matawis (AMM) nominations. Despite many nominations, the duo only won 1 AMM award in category Best Album in 2009. The duo split in 2012 as Nando wants to focus on his family. But both still cooperate in several projects in the future including Nando's 2 singles which was release in 2013 and 2015. Before 2026 BRTV, Nando had release 10 singles and 1 mini album. But participating in 2026 BRTV and winning it has been his greatest achievement so far after he resign from the duo.

Karina Meliawati Sudirja or known as Karin Melia is a 41 years old singer and actress. Born in Labuanjaya from a Matawisan mother and Serumpunan father, she got her music talent from his father who was a guitarist and piano teacher. However, her career starts in 2003 when she starred in a teen television series. After graduated from university, she moved to Serumpun and build her music career there. Her first album was release in 2007 followed by 2 singles from the album. Her career in Serumpun was shortlived after she comeback to Matawis in 2009 where she immediately release her first single in Matawis. She released another 3 albums in 2010, 2012 and 2016. Each released by different recording company. On the other hand, she continue her acting career although she is now focus on feature film instead of television series. Between 2010-2024, she acted in 7 films. She was surprise when Nando called to join him in a duet for BRTV project. The surprise was because BRTV usually competed by native artist from the state or province. And she find it odd as she is Labuanjaya's born that will represent Pakunagara, a totally differ state. But luckily the rule do not apply to featured artist as long as the main singer come from the state or province that they represent.

Slowly, the dark stage turn to light with blue hue. And the soft piano voice can be heard coming from the center of the stage. The lights are focus on the center as Nanda is seating there in front of the piano. He wearing a navy blue suite, looking rather elegant than his usual outfit. But it is match with the atmosphere. He start to sing the first verse of the song while playing the piano. The camera zooming in from the side and capture his complex expression. In between happy and sorrow with a hanging smile on the corner of his lips.

The camera moved to the front of the piano. Giving a wider perspective of Nanda behind the grand piano. It can be notice that he commonly closing his eyes to capture the feeling of the lyrics while his head moving automatically to it. On the bridge part, the camera turn to some of the audience who looks captivated with the performance. In another part, it can be seen that they too sing to the song. Maybe they are Nanda's supporters from home.

Cinta tak hanya tentang bermanis manja
Ada rasa amarah juga kecewa
Kita bersama telah menempuh semua
Tapi kini terasa jauh berbeda

Apakah kita bertahan
Demi cinta yang sama

Into the chorus, the rather dim lights turn a little brighter and the piano's position seems to rotate to face the audience as the lights shine through the back of Nanda. It somehow dazzling at some angle but it gives the dramatic vibes of the lyric.

At the second part of the chorus, it is the floor lights turn to shine around Nanda and his piano in a bluish color. It turn on and off interchangeably following the tempo of the song. But then the lights goes down and another light is lit.

But love don’t hurts you like this
Baby just don’t pretend it's alright
And love don’t hurts you like this
Baby come on just break it all this

Jangan…jangan….
Bertahan dan terluka
Jangan…jangan….
Memaksakan cinta yang memudar

The light shine on the right staircase where Karin is standing there singing the second verse of the song. She wears a black slim fit dress decorated with sparkling diamond from the waist down. The sequence of the diamonds are getting farther away as it come down. She walks down the stair as she sing and the light is following her movement. The camera take the angle from the front before slightly move to the side which unexpectedly capture Nanda who continue to playing the piano to accompany her singing. The piano's position is rotate again and Nanda is now position on his side facing the front stage. Meanwhile, Karin finally standing to the side of the piano facing the audience.

Dada bergetar tiap kali berjumpa
Tapi kini getarnya tak lagi sama
Tatapan mata penuh api asmara
Tapi baranya kini tak lagi terlihat berpendar

Both singers singing in unison as they sing the chorus part. This second chorus however feels more energize than the first one. The camera turn its view between both singers. At one point, it capture Karin's expression as she sing her hearts out by taking the angle from the other side of the piano. On another point, it capture Nanda's side view with Karin blurry vision in the background. And the other point, it capture both singers with their powerful voice from the left side. It sometimes cut the view to the audience to view their expression as the voice getting stronger at this part. And we can see a different expression showed by the audiences.

Then love don’t hurts you like this
Baby just don’t pretend it’s alright
And love don’t hurts you like this
Baby come on just break it all this

Jangan…jangan….
Bertahan dan terluka
Jangan…jangan….
Memaksakan cinta yang memudar

Entering the coda, both place a strong voice to express the long journey of love that gradually losing its sparks. The camera success to capture their exhausted expression as the love that they hold on for too long truthfully has slip away from them.

Oh… jangan

Kisah yang telah terbentang lama
Bertahan pada cinta yang sama
Kini cinta itu tak lagi ada

The lights are back down a bit after a strong coda performance. They replying the chorus part again. Begin with a soft voice, it gradually getting stronger and stronger to the end of the first part. The camera shift the view from one side to another. As the feeling consume him, Nanda rise from his seat and singing the second part of the chorus while standing out although he sill continue to playing the piano. On the side, Karin feels the energy and put more power to her voice to match Nanda's. The lights are also become brighter through the end of the second part as if its getting powered by them.

But as the power rapidly grows it going down as fast. Through the end of chorus, the song become mild again. It is a pure performance as both singers change their mood in an instant. From a strong powerful voice to a soft end. And with that, the lights become more and more blurry until the last lyric is sung.

Love don’t hurts you like this
Baby just don’t pretend it’s alright
And love don’t hurts you like this
Baby come on just break it all this

Jangan…jangan….
Bertahan dan terluka
Jangan…jangan….
Memaksakan cinta yang memudar

Love don't….

The performance is rather quick with a drastic change of emotion that captive the audience. A wave of claps are heard after their performance. The lights on the stage are lighten back. Both Nanda and Karin standing side by side. They hug each other before standing and waving to the welcoming audience. Nanda then grab Karin's hand and rise them up to the roar of the audience. Most of them seems to come from Bhumish supporters who present there. They wave once again and shouts thank you before escorted out by the organizer.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:31 pm

lyrics Marije Azéma, André Girade, Theo De Clercq | music Marije Azéma, André Girade, Theo De Clercq
tune Lola Young - CAN WE IGNORE IT:(

Light references to suicide and disordered eating.

“I think.. I think about killing myself more than a normal person does. I would never do it, at least I hope I wouldn’t but there's always that feeling somewhere deep down. But like, maybe my problems are less important than other peoples? I find it hard to centre myself in a world when so many people have so many bigger issues, maybe I’m not that important in the grand scheme of things.

Ok sorry this is stupid. Bye”

I scratch the final letters into the notepage and slam the red leather bound diary shut with a strong thump, the words having spilled out of me still lingering heavy on the page. It's early hours of the morning in Maastricht, Carrelie three or maybe even four, but I can’t pull myself from my bed to go and look. The gentle breeze of twilight whispers through the window, and my light blue curtains flutter over the windowsill. My eyes flit back back to the diary which sits on my nightstand. Crowned with dust and a watermark from when I spilled my drink over it, the poor thing hasn’t seen the best of days - or the best of usage really either. I promised my therapist I’d try and get my thoughts out on paper since apparently I struggle to communicate them verbally (Who would’ve guessed) but the diary doesn’t seem to be helping either. It just sits on my nightstand, occasionally filling with dust and half-baked song ideas which I never have the heart to finish. Could music be the outlet I’m looking for? Who knows. Though I might as well give Julia’s idea another try.

“~~Ok sorry this is stupid. Bye~~

I apologise for my previous statement. I'm going to give this another try. Julia I hope you're watching, I won't be doing this again.

I think.. I think about killing myself more than a normal person does. I would never do it, at least I hope I wouldn’t but there's always that feeling somewhere deep down. Every morning my alarm goes off at 6am. It goes off at the same time, every day, every week - yet every time it startles me. Like I’m not ready to start another day. I know logically that one day follows the next and so forth, but every night I go to bed and wish I could sit comfortably in that in-between space, somewhere between midnight and three, where the whole world stops for a minute - and it's just me on my own. I think that's where I’m most comfortable.

I’m not good with social interaction, never have been - nor social cues but I think that might be a story for another time. I could tell from a very young age, primary school even - that I was different. And not just because I liked girls, although that probably didn’t help matters. Neither did the relentless teasing, but I learnt to push myself down, into a small me shaped box that could sit in the deep centre of my stomach, and only come out when things got real bad, or real quiet. Beyond that I think I saw the world differently, more wild with colour and alive than the others maybe. Like one of those really over the top adverts that turn out to be for like… Carrefour or something. I saw what the other kids didn’t, and I guess that made me stand out too. At the time I wished I could see in black and white like everyone else, to fit into the same box that everyone else did, to make friends.

I think now I just want to see the world in colour again.

I don’t recall fully the first time I stopped seeing the colours as I walked. Maybe I was fourteen? I’m not really sure but I was a big kid now, so I didn’t have time for my own interests and my excitement for my own life - I had to fit into one of those neat little boxes, just like in primary school. All in all my experience as a clone of the next girl went a lot smoother than my experience as myself, probably not the best life lesson to engrain into your head from a young age but it was the one that kept me under a spell for the longest, until things came to a head when I was sixteen.

I used to is one of the most devastating phrases a person can use. It usually denotes some kind of loss, which I’ve endured my fair share. I used to like to make music. I was in a band when I was sixteen. Well not so much a band, more a loose collection of us rowdy teenagers, who would make noise in Luuk’s garage. I’d sing lead, but occasionally step back and let Luuk himself take the spotlight. Instead playing Electric guitar and improvising riffs as I went along. Our practice would go on for hours - just getting lost in the music we created even if (more likely most of the time) the music was flat out awful. I used to joke that if we didn’t get at least one noise complaint, then I wasn’t playing hard enough. They’d laugh, we’d all laugh. Our band was a short lived endeavour. I wouldn’t blame my skills on the guitar but I’d hardly give them leeway either, 6 months from age 15 to 16, until we eventually broke up over an argument. It seems so minor in retrospect, but it’s never minor when you’ve both had a few (Underage drinking a personal favourite pastime of mine). The shouting turned to screaming turned to physical fighting, and before I knew it we’d packed up shop and moved out of Luuk’s garage.

I didn’t speak to him again before he moved away to Amsterdam. I didn’t speak much to anyone. I think I underestimated the importance of that creative outlet on my life. I think maybe I saw in colour once again, even if just for a glimpse. I retreated to my room following the breakup. I don’t think my heart had ever really left, it felt more like a return to routine than anything out of the ordinary. I tore down my posters, ripped up my guitar books and I stopped going to school. Instead I’d sit day by day by the mirror, analysing any and every fault I could pick out. My hips, my stomach, my cheeks, my nose, swapping revision guides for diet books, and all my band tutorials for obsessing over celebrities' perfect lives on social media. My veterinary work experience came and went, as did my exams (which I didn’t show up for), results day, prom - all of these things I should’ve done but couldn’t. Because I was too scared of how I looked to leave the house.

I don’t remember at which point I went downhill but I know it wasn’t great. I remember sobbing into my blush pink rug and staining it rose. Early hours of the morning I think. My mum found me not long after and got in touch with a therapist, Julia. Which essentially brings us here. Naturally I’ve spared some details, but now you know why I’m sitting here writing a diary entry like I'm an angry seven year old, or… just a loser. Maybe I can be both of those things. Either way it doesn’t matter, I'm here now. The least cool former rockstar in Maastricht, maybe I should give that writing thing a go again.”

Marije Azéma is a 19 year old singer from Zuidfrisia, Carrelie. Who is representing Suurna in the 82nd World Hit Festival. Typically, entrants for Suurna will earn their ticket to (In most cases WorldVision) by competing in the nation's national final Týlskeriðsöngvakeppni. Which is supported by TRR and held in Carrelie. So far this selection process has yielded two entries, (with this being the third and WorldVision 126 being the fourth). However the format has undergone a few changes in recent times, even throughout the contest's relatively short lifespan. Before NSÚ made the decision to compete in the 122nd WVSC, their NF existed as an internal song competition - which served as a major revenue draw for the broadcaster due to its entry fees, which only increased once they took the decision to compete as well. While this functioned fine for the first edition, by 123, the poor performance of Alina Kopczyńska’s song Chcę, along with the corruption allegations that followed towards the contest's conclusion forced the broadcaster to reconsider its National Final format.

The only people they forgot to alert towards the change were the contestants, and so Marije Azéma, along with 73 other artists, all entered the 6th rendition of the contest - assuming their victory would grant them a ticket to WorldVision. This was not the case - A particularly upsetting set of events for Týlskeriðsöngvakeppni’s eventual winner: Marije Azéma. The conduct of the broadcaster, and its lack of public communication around the format change would lead to the second major controversy in only a year, and with their backs to the wall, NSÚ was forced to commit to a timeline for broadcasting an international song contest, with Marije at its helm.

So why WHF? Well firstly, its smaller scale offers two benefits. Entry fees are far lower, and with the many many court battles that the broadcaster is currently in the midst of fighting - they need all of the budget they can get their hands on. But beyond that, this edition’s location in Carrelie makes logistics so much easier for the broadcaster. In fact, Marije’s native Zuidfrisia borders Douria, which does once again - work wonders for the budget. All of this means for this edition NSÚ is able to afford to send their entrant to the stage with props and proper funding! I know how exciting, and it’ll be needed. Considering Marijie has entirely changed up her song from the one that originally won back in the 6th edition, which we will be seeing… now:

The postcard draws to a close and the lights rise as the guitar and drum beats kick in. The whole stage in lit in contrasting black and white. Spread out across the LEDS in splashes rather than solid colours, overall it’s quite a dark staging, going for a more moody/grungy vibe visually, in order to match the tone of the song. The camera starts over on the right side, where Marije is sat on the stairs that make up either side of the stage. She wears light blue jeans, which are heavily ripped. On her right leg you can see her rose tattoo peeking out from underneath the white threads with spiderweb across the gap, however it is for the most part obscured by the black fishnets which she wears underneath her jeans. Moving further up she has a white crop top (also ripped around the shoulder) in a low cut. It is longer on the left side than the right and has visibly bunched up fabric where the top has been pinned to give it this effect. Marijie has black hair with light blonde stripes through it (Think Alyssa Liu) and it's cut into a wolf cut. She has an eyebrow piercing which dons a huge fake diamond, along with three piercings in her nose.

With the camera now focused on Marije, it is far easier to notice that the entire performance is being shot in black and white. This is to further the grungy/moody aesthetic that is being built by the background lighting, and is also a stylistic choice made by Marije to match with the vibe of the song itself. Sitting on the stairs she leans forward to sing the first line. The camera is dead in front of her and is being held by a person, who is standing just off the steps. She holds the microphone in her hand, and moves it around a lot when she sings - which does lead to her voice cutting out occasionally.

Une petite fille, qui avait des rêves bien plus grands qu'elle
Elle changerait le monde, une célébrité ou un vétérinaire
Sa mère lui a dit, soyez gentil avec le monde il vous le rendra bien
Pensez-vous que c'est vrai? Parce que j'attends toujours que ce soit mon heure

The line “Et tous les jours, je me traîne au travail, J'ai terminé.” acts almost as a pre-chorus/buildup for the main chorus. So for this section she gets up from the stairs and begins to walk towards the centre of the stage. She makes sure to stay up close with the camera, which is still the same person as before (although another is waiting in the wings) She tries to keep the cool and uncaring demeanour from the start of the song as she walks towards the middle, but it slips slightly towards the end (Around “Je ne peux plus”) as she realises she may need to speed up to get to the middle in time.

In the middle of the stage there sits a full size black and white drumkit. The body of the drums themselves are mostly blackout, with white flames spreading across both the body and the drum parts itself. Particularly prominent is the name Marije Azéma scrawled across the front of the bass drum. However Marije is not here for that. She slips the microphone into the microphone stand, which is the signal for the producers to jump to her head microphone (which is done in the brief pause after the word Ainsi) This is so that she can play the electric guitar that is hidden behind the drumset. It adorns the same decorations as the drums, although inverse - with a white body and black flames. Knowing she isn’t playing live, she adds some extra embellishments to the playing which look cool, but are not practical in the slightest (sorry real guitarists, Marije is simply an actor.)

Et tous les jours, je me traîne au travail, J'ai terminé.
Que dois-je faire? Je sais que je ne peux plus continuer ainsi.
Je suis coincé dans la roue, tournoyant sous mes pieds
Je sais que je suis fatigué, mais je continue
Je me demande si tout cela est réel? La vie d'une étoile?

As we enter into the second verse, Marije has found her way to the floor. She sits squatted down next to the drum,one arm on top effortlessly (Although a lot of effort is involved, considering she is losing her balance) cool. As she to the second line she stands back up, facing left, a second person with a camera comes on the stage, the one from before running off through the side exit. She hasn’t returned to the handheld mic for this section, and instead continues to use her head mounted mic, allowing her to do more with her hands. For the shout on the final line in particular, Marije shows her exasperation in her hand movements. In sync with this, the light also strobes rapidly as the tone of the song begins to shift towards the main chorus.

Retour à la vie, retour à la réalité
Pourquoi ai-je pensé pouvoir échapper à mon destin? {Tous les jours, Tous les jours}
J'ai abandonné l'université, je dois quitter ma chambre plus. (Personne ne peut m'entendre.)
AH! Je crois que j'ai encore oublié comment vivre.

As we build up into the main chorus, Marije once again gets very close to the camera, although she is walking backwards as she needs to make her way back to the centre of the stage for the next section. Her anger within the context of the song is growing by this point, and so at the end of the second line, she pushes the camera away to the side as it cuts.

For the first time in the performance the camera is no longer on stage, which reduces the more intimate feel that was being built at the start of the song - however this overview camera has instead been chosen to widen the spectacle as the song draws into its final moments. The camera zooms down towards Marije, who is back at the drum set.

By the start of the actual chorus (Je suis coincé dans la roue) Marije has begun to tear the drumset apart in her anger. She stands behind it and kicks the bass drum over, which starts a cascade of the other components of the set, with the cymbals falling not long after. By the time she sings the title of the song, the camera has now panned closer towards her, and shows her emerging from the wreckage she’s caused. She stands on top of it defiantly, her electric guitar noticeably now pinned to her back (unharmed of course). The wreckage is lit from below, with the floor lights being the main lighting for this section of the performance. Smoke has also begun to come in at this point and a thick layer of fog covers the bottom of the stage. Gently lit in amber to differentiate it from the black and white lighting across the rest of the stage. The camera comes in close to capture the raw emotion on Marije’s face as she sings the final few lines of the chorus, and steps closer to the front of the stage.

Et tous les jours, je me traîne au travail, J'ai terminé.
Que dois-je faire? Je sais que je ne peux plus continuer ainsi.
Je suis coincé dans la roue, tournoyant sous mes pieds
Je sais que je suis fatigué, mais je continue
Je me demande si tout cela est réel? La vie d'une étoile?
Les pires moments, Je supplierais pour un signe
Non, je ne suis pas fier, Au moins je suis toujours là.
Je me demande si tout cela est réel? La vie d'une étoile?

There is a musical break before entering the outro, along with the occasional few adlibs thrown in. So Marije has grabbed the handheld microphone back in order to close the song out. Having stepped out of the drums she sits on her knees. She throws herself around dramatically with the beat the best she can, however of course she has to be careful as the guitar is still on her back. As we reach the end of the ad-libs with “Yeah yeah” (What an exciting line) she stands up and flips the guitar from her back, which garners a large cheer. She plays the guitar solo and the camera does rapid jump cuts around her, showing her face, her fingers on the guitar and her playing as a whole - along with this the lights flash on and off along with the guitar playing.

Reaching the very final chorus, Marije comes all the way to the front of the stage now, standing just in front of the steps to get up onto it. Typically at this point in a concert she would go and do a crowd walk, however this isn't possible at WHF, so instead she gets down on her knees, and reaches out with the hand that isn’t holding the microphone to the fans, which also earns quite a cheer. As she sings her final line she drops her head to her knees - and the lights cut.

Je suis coincé, C'est tous les jours
C'est tous les jours, c'est tous les jours
C'est tous les jours yeah yeah
Tous les jours, je suis coincé dans la roue, tournoyant sous mes pieds
Je sais que je suis fatigué mais je continue
Je me demande si tout cela est réel? La vie d'une étoile?

The lights go back up briefly to allow Marije a chance to say her goodbyes. She thanks the crowd in both English, Dutch and her native French, and waves at the camera before making a swift run off the stage, all that's left now is to hope she's done enough to make her band proud.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:33 pm

lyrics Airi Oya, Lainho Vouc | music Lainho Vouc, Hiroki Peutel
tune Grant Knoche - "FRICTION"

That bitch. He left again with no goodbye, no thank you, no acknowledgement of their relationship. Just a stay overnight in Lainho's bed. And gone by daylight. It was as if Lainho was nothing more than a momentary distraction, an embarrassing slip-up in the rising star of the great Keiyo Pitkánen's incessant rise to the top of the league. And it was. Lainho would know. Keiyo was dedicated to the bone, having raised to put everything he had, his entire focus on his sport, and well, romantic relationships just didn't fit in that slickly professional image he'd been taught to emulate and had built up for himself since the two were young. The two men weren't in the same level of competition- Lainho remained floating around the upper amateur level as he focused on other pursuits such as music and modeling, while Keiyo had his sights aimed squarely at the top. One would think that left Lainho far below Keiyo, some unremarkable swordsman who Keiyo wouldn't give the time of day to. But in fact, it meant that Lainho wasn't a rival. And that let Keiyo slip up every now and then in the heat of the moment, giving in to his denied desires with someone he'd known for so long.

Yet it also meant that their relationship laid in an empty space of inference, described only by coded words and silent movements. A request to hang out tonight, an arm lingering over the other's body. Which worked all fine and well for Keiyo, at least superficially, but Lainho could only be human. How could they continue like this? His eagle eyes caught Keiyo's stares, the invitations to events, the late-night requests for companionship. His messages were terse, ostensibly platonic, but Lainho could read beyond the words. As much as Keiyo wanted it to be, this wasn't a platonic relationship, casual friends with benefits, something that he could forget about when stepping into the spotlight for his next big bout. Sure, they had grown apart and come back together, but Lainho hadn't learned nothing from knowing this man for nearly two decades. He could taste the yearning on his tongue... not just when kissing in the throes of passion, but also in the furtive gazes and close proximity the otherwise stoic man would continually offer. So what were they? Lainho needed to know. Keiyo needed to face his own truth. Was he avoiding romance to focus on his craft, or was he fleeing from his feelings? Lainho had caught wind of the hushed whispers in the community regarding the two of them. The timer was ticking down, and he had to sort this out.

The celestial ley lines, and the fabric between universes finally aligned once more to allow for Tödlichebujoku to return to the world competitions. Lainho had just released his latest track, "Savor | Sabre," when Estegoa100 reached out to him for an opportunity in the World Hit Festival. With the nation's last appearance in WHF receding further and further into the past, and TÖBUK's status on WorldVision unknown, Lainho was excited to return the nation to the stage in Morizécourt, Carrelie, despite the travel advisory from the Temple. They had the necessary blessings, they'd be fine from the horrors. Whether he did well or not, he was simply elated to perform his song, released on the anniversary of his wedding.

As he left the front door with his bags, he gazed dreamily at his husband. It would be so nice to explore Carrelie together, see what the fuss is about, get the adrenaline pumping with him in a strange new world and environment... during his beloved's first real break ever, much deserved after winning gold for the nation at the last Ścharacains.

All is dark. Just as he begins to sing, he is backlit by a light, a spotlight shining from the rear of the stage that makes him appear as if he is glowing, with light rays radiating outward in misty air. Lainho is in side profile, back to back with a dancer

Take me on, fuck the cameras, just give in
Don't you listen to nobody, cross our hearts and our swords-

The lights all flash in and out to the drum beats as the two stand still. Lainho turns toward the audience as a single spotlight shines upon him, now visibly in a white fencing outfit. The dancer, similarly dressed but with the masked headpiece, is feeling up Lainho's torso from behind, and the two writhe slowly as Lainho continues through the first verse, side-eying the dancer knowingly

Fencing outfits | Without mask (Lainho's look)

These touches, you give me in the dark
As if you want me (as if you want me)
Said you love me only like a brother (just another)
Only friends and fans but never lovers (no)
I know you better

In a whirl of motion, the two face and circle each other cautiously with their sabres that had been magnetically mounted on their backsides. They stare into each other, with tension in between them, the stage now more brightly lit. Glimmers and flickers like camera flashes emanate from the stage screens and accent lighting, bouncing off the chrome accents on Lainho's outfit

Don't you know how all the world can see your eyes on me?
Take me on, fuck the cameras, just give in
Don't you listen to nobody, cross our hearts and our swords, meet your maker
Make me sweat, you're the expert
Give and take, thrusting deeper
Breathe it in, thank me later as you

The lights flash red with the drumbeats, illuminating the two as they spar swiftly. The flashing lights alternate with full darkness, like strobes, making their actions seem to be still frames instead of fluid movement. They meet, head to head, with a camera closeup as Lainho says "Savor," before returning to the choreographed swordplay, still lit entirely in red lighting

Savor
Sweat, sparring faster
Give and take, thrusting deeper
Breathe it in, thank me later, feel my
Sabre

With the lighting back to a more neutral warm white, they circle one another with sabres extended, before putting them back on their backside mounts and whirling into a tight embrace, foreheads touching, the camera view in close. Holding the dancer close, the two sink to their knees, and the lighting around them shrinks to a focused beam that illuminates a small circle around them

Don't hate me
You're lying every week, down beside me
And still you fear falling into my arms too far, if the press takes charge, if I'd break your heart

They rise back up to their feet, then circle each other with one hand holding the other's, leaning outward, gazing at one another, with starry lights visible behind them both from the stage and behind the audience

Don't you know how all the world can see your eyes on me?
Take me on, fuck the cameras, just give in
Don't you listen to nobody, cross our hearts and our swords, meet your maker
Make me sweat, you're the expert
Give and take, thrusting deeper
Breathe it in, thank me later as you

They pull each other close while circling one another, a mischievous grin on Lainho's face as they then thrust apart from one another, stepping away and reaching back to wield their sabres once again. With the drumbeats, they leap toward one another, caught frame by frame by the colored strobing lights that start red but transition to blacklight, making them seem like they are glowing

Savor
Sweat, sparring faster
Give and take, thrusting deeper
Breathe it in, thank me later, feel my
Sabre

In red lighting, they continue sparring, with the stage screens around them reflecting them from various angles as if the two are surrounded by mirrors alongside, above, and behind them. As the chorus ends, the dancer stands still, with Lainho walking around him, one arm tracing around the man's body and lit partially in blue light alongside the ambient red

Don't you know how all the world can see your eyes on me?
Can't you tell how all the world can watch your mask fall free?
Take me on, fuck the cameras, just give in
Don't you listen to nobody, cross our hearts and our swords, meet your maker
Make me sweat, you're the expert
Give and take, thrusting deeper
Breathe it in, thank me later as you

This time the drumbeats start as the two leap apart, en garde, before they swiftly clash blades once again in the strobing lights that now alternate between red and white in a dazzling scene. Now, the aggressive sparring is interspersed with moments of seduction and grasping that would be very much frowned upon in a professional round of the sport

Savor
Sweat, sparring faster
Give and take, thrusting deeper
Breathe it in, thank me later, feel my
Sabre
Sweat, sparring faster
Give and take, thrusting deeper
Breathe it in, thank me later, feel my
Sabre

With a final episode of strobing lights- brilliant white alternating with glowing blacklight and utter darkness in between- the two have a final clash of blades before spinning into an embrace, face to face, Lainho's dancer's mask fallen away so that they lock lips. Just as swiftly, they disappear into darkness, leaving only the afterimage of their intimacy visible in the camera feed and the burned retinas of the audience

"Thank you Morizécourt! Obrigado!" Lainho calls out as the lights come back on. He and the dancer bow before heading backstage to rest, and to enjoy the rest of the show.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:38 pm

lyrics Périnne Séjour | music Périnne Séjour, Hugo Moreau
tune Ditonellapiaga - Si lo so

The moment was finally here. This felt a lot bigger than the Pierre Bonhomme Theatre in Cherbourg, where not too long ago she'd lifted the famous Disque, where she'd become the first winner of the newcomers competition to win the main Grand Prix de Cherbourg the year after. Quite a remarkable achievement. This felt bigger, though. Morizécourt felt quite similar to home, of course, so that helped; even the language wasn't the barrier it sometimes could be. And the stage felt very familiar, very much the same design philosophy as those she had performed on in Cherbourg. And it wasn't the performing on camera either, she had become used to that too. She was, however, aware that a lot more eyes would be watching from a host of other countries. She knew, also, that she had the support of millions of Normands, which both buoyed her and crushed her. She had SRNP's expectations, ideally to do well but not win. Well, she'd see about that... But yes, something about it all felt different. Not that she had much time to really think about it, as producers rushed her onto stage and into position. Ah, nothing changes. But she did have a brief moment on stage to herself as the postcard ended, one final breath. She thought about the journey she'd been on...

Doigtscrochus Wins Cherbourg Grand Prix | Normandy and Picardy's return to WHF confirmed

Today, at the final post-Grand Prix press conference, SRNP executives confirmed that Doigtscrochus, who won the 48th Grand Prix du Cherbourg with her smash hit Que brabant! ("How Boring!") will represent Normandy and Picardy at the 82nd World Hit Festival in Morizécourt, Carrelie. It had long been suspected that the broadcaster was plotting a return to the contest that it once saw major success at before the failure of its last attempt to host, which indeed saw the broadcaster - which had already been in a financially perilous possession - enter bankruptcy. It is perhaps a sign that SRNP views itself as now being back on its feet that it has sought to return to the contest, though the previous winner of the Grand Prix also travelled to WHF without much success. Will it be a repeat? Who knows. One thing that is for certain is that SRNP are clearly gambling that WHF can once again big name draw it once was, even in light of the difficulties the contest itself has had recently...

Doigtcrochus' win is a major turning point for the contest. It is not often a full throated modern slice of pop, let alone one with the sass and bite of Que Brabant!, gets close to winning the contest. And indeed, it was a close run thing. Whilst it was that the press and the orchestra were behind her from very early on - indeed, she won the first night, voted on by the press - her momentum took a hit on the night the Professional Jury voted; they weighed their votes heavily towards more traditional numbers, especially the frontrunner before the contest, Cher Patrocle, whose song is the very definition of Chanson de Grand Prix. Meanwhile, some of the earlier challengers, especially Jacquelin but also more surprisingly Marianne Beauchamp - much to the disgust of the crowd in the Théâtre Pierre Bonhomme who positively rioted when she missed out on the superfinal - faltered. Meanwhile, a younger demographic made itself felt in the televote, catapulting huge popstar Marcel Durand, alongside Laurent and rapper JVLS, into the superfinal with their song "Toujours plus verte" (Always Greener).

The contest has once again dominated the Normand airwaves and streaming, with all 20 competing entries making up the top 20 most listened songs of the past few weeks, and this shows no signs of letting up. From the big names to some of the smaller and indie artists making a name for themselves, it appears the Grand Prix is showing no signs of faltering any time soon. Indeed, SRNP will be extremely happy with the 76% viewing figure for the final, slightly down on last year but nevertheless extremely high. They'll be hoping they can say the same for WHF, although after a long break it is unclear what appetite there really is. Hence why SRNP will have been so glad to secure Doigtscrochus, the winner of the Grand Prix. With her waving the Normand and Picard flag, it is clear there will be considerable interest in the outcome. Having won the Nouveaux Arrivants last year and now the main Grand Prix itself, who knows where the limit is...

It all felt like a whirlwind. And now, this performance was going to be a hurricane. At least, that's what the Périnne Séjour who was taking that final breath hoped. The next breath would be as Doigtscrochus, the stage persona, the tongue in cheek satirist the Normand audience had come to love. It was time to go. She turned around to the dancers who had joined her on stage. The performance had changed little from that in Cherbourg, and they had been with her all the way. Marianne, Heloise, Maëlle and Simone would have her back, she knew, and that definitely helped settle her nerves somewhat.

And so, the bass-y synths that signalled the song had begun did their thing, as Doigtscrochus (from here on out, DC) started singing. The opening shot was centered extremely closely so as to frame DC's head and upper torso, with the stairs of the stage behind her visible but not much else. Not that you could see her face, as over it was a lacey white wedding veil; you could, however, see her lips, covered as always when she was on stage with the bright red lipstick that had become her signature look. After the first "Que brabant", a series of arms - those of her backing dancers - suddenly burst into the shot, each holding a different type of phone. There was an old landline style phone, complete with curly wire that disappeared off screen, in red, alongside a brick phone, and two, more modern models. They came in around the bottom, almost being hold like microphones by a press pack.

At the second 'Que brabant', DC suddenly lifted up her veil, looking almost annoyed (as one could well imagine she would be with all these phones harassing her). She reached out and grabbed one the old, red phone and held it to her head, as if she were singing these next lines directly down the phone. The hand that had held it recoiled, as if shocked that this had happened, but joined the other hands (these ones holding phones) in beginning to move in time to the music around the bottom of DC. As she continued to sing, the camera rapidly zoomed in at one point to the point where you could pretty much only see her lips, before pulling back out again. This, indeed, was just in time for the line ''que les filles que tu ghostes', at which point the hand grabbed the phone back and the others were pulled away too - DC, too, had been ghosted, live on stage. Nevertheless, she simply looked up to the camera and raised an eyebrow; she'd seen this all before.

Que brabant!
T’es un “homme moderne”,
Toujours en verve, mais jamais sincère
Que brabant!
Tu fais du “développement”,
Respiration, alignement
Mais zéro engagement
Que brabant!
Tu me parles de discipline,
De ta routine, de ta dopamine
Tu me dis que la modération, c’est beau
Mais tu bois plus de cafés que les filles que tu ghostes
Mon pote, vraiment un grand bravo

As the next part of the verse started, the view of the audience at home suddenly shifted, with the camera shot having turned to the side and pulled out to show Heloise, one of our dancers, dressed as the others was in a large, oversized (yet still fashionable - the Normand delegation was not going to be accussed of bad tailoring if nothing else) black suit with white shirt and bright pink tie, mockingly posing and showing off for the camera. She was pretending to curl what should have been a dumbbell, but was instead a (model of) a croissant. The camera then turned around to show DC. The viewers could now see the whole ensemble she was wearing. The veil was now gone, and so the long, brown hair that flowed down to her shoulders could be seen very clearly. She wore a white shirt with the words "Que brabant!" on, with a black corset over the top, and a tutu style skirt, in pink to match the ties of the dancers. What was also extremely noticeable at this point, however, was her face, which can only be described as having distilled the essence of Shania Twain's "That Don't Impress Me Much", dripping with disdain. Marianne and Simone, two of the other backing dancers, strutted up in time to the rhythm behind DC almost looming over her shoulders, to which DC quickly raised up her hands as if to say a very firm "Non, merci", her annoyance again writ large.

Accro à la musculation,
J’fais mes reps au magasin d’alimentation
Tu me dis “je suis simple”
Non, t’es infernal, bruyant, épuisant
Torse nu, en flexant dans la salle,
Toujours en train d’te filmer - banal
Va t’acheter une vie
Parce que tes biceps n’achètent rien

By the start of the chorus, the four dancers were now formed up behind DC, and as an ensemble they slowly walked towards the front of the stage during the prechorus, with the steadicam operator moving back (though having to be careful not to move far back lest he fall over, which would not be ideal). As they walked, a series of hand gestures were used to go along with the lyrics of the prechorus/chorus. The first line was accompanied, very originally, by a 'call me' style gesture, which was then rolled up so that, for the second line, DC and the dancers' hands (right hands only) were held against their head, palm facing out, to represent the headache/hangover. These were then pulled down and, during the third line, was to count to three in time to the music. From there, all the fingers were extended, as were the arms, to start sarcastically waving goodbye in time to the music for the 'ton ego, ego' section. A quick cut to a shot of the live musicians provided by the Carrelian broadcaster allowed time for the steadicam operator to leave the stage, and we could then pan up to show that DC had reached her microphone stand towards the front of the stage, the dancers arranged in an arrowhead style formation behind her (so that she was the tip).

Appel en absence, encore ton 06,
Je lis ton nom et j’ai déjà mal au crâne, oh
Tu m’ignores trois jours et tu m'rappelles du vestiaire
Essaie demain quand t'auras lavé ton ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Essaie demain si tu oses, chéri
Pas sûre d'répondre, mais ça pourrait être drôle

Towards the end of the chorus, the four dancers had turned and sauntered to the pair of stairs at the back, two each side, where they were now sat, framing either side of DC (an effect aided by the slightly upwards tilt of the camera). As DC herself continued to play around with the camera, giving sultry looks with a tinge of annoyance, in the background each of the dancers pulled out a newspaper from their suit jackets. A close up camera shot of one of the dancers, moving their upper body jaggedly in time to the beat, showed that this read "Homme de Calais résout la paix mondiale" (Calais Man Solves World Peace), and below it, in much smaller writing, "Les femmes de calais ne sont pas d'accord" (The Women of Calais Don't Agree); this was, amongst other things, a small nod to DC's hometown. The dancers began tearing out pages from the papers, until once of them held aloft a copy of the far right/conspiracist paper Valeurs Actuelles, as referenced in the lyrics. After a shot focusing on this, we also got one focused on DC herself, raising an eyebrow and yet almost grinning; she's caught another guy out on his nonsense.

Que brabant!
T’es un expert politique,
Chroniqueur automatique
Un polémiste de boutique
Que brabant!
Tu joues le modéré,
Mais tu glisses des takes qui feraient rougir Valeurs Actuelles - c’est juré

For the next part of the verse, most of the shots were close and centered on DC from a variety of different angles, capturing the many little micro-expressions and the playfulness she was approaching the performance with. Amongst other things this showed was the earrings she was wearing, red love hearts surrounded by (fake diamonds); these, however, were broken hearts, as shown by the jagged diamond line down the middle of them. It also allowed the work of the Normand makeup team to be admired, especially the long, dark lashes and the bright red lips.

Ton micro minuscule, quelle blague,
Ton podcast bancal, quelle drague,
Tes “analyses” molles, mon dieu, quelle saga
J’me casse comme la Grande‑Bretagne
Oui j'suis sûre que c’est très profond
Comme le trou dans lequel tu t’enfonces
Tu votes comme ton père, mais tu me dis que tu es “au‑delà"

The start of the next chorus came with a slightly further out shot, which revealed that the dancers had moved from the stairs. They could now be seen walking, looming around her, hands in their pockets, crossing their paths and generally providing the movement whilst DC stayed at her microphone stand, generally vibing and serving face. By 'la terre', the dancers were in the same formation as before. However, they were turned with their backs to the camera, but heads turned round, looking over their shoulders (to the left on the left, to the right on the right). Then, on 'Essaie', they all turn around inwards, to end up looking out at the camera.

The sarcastic waving returned for the second round of 'ton ego's, as again they returned to generally walking about to the beat. Again, there were a lot of camera cuts showing the scene from different angles and helping keep the interest up; this was also augmented by the lighting work. In general the colour scheme had been pretty consistent, deep purple with highlights of white in the verses, with more white flashes from various angles and some underlying hints of blue in the chorus, and the same was provided for this chorus too.

Notification, encore ton argumentaire,
Ton “point de vue” m’fatigue avant même le café, oh
Tu veux m’expliquer la gauche, la droite, la Terre,
Essaie demain quand t’auras calmé ton ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Essaie demain si tu oses, chéri
Pas sûre d'répondre, mais ça pourrait être drôle

However, for the bridge, much of this lighting was pared back, and instead DC was suddenly under a spotlight. The four dancers were arranged around her, two kneeling and looking up and two by her shoulders, almost resting their head on them, and again turned inwards to her. Much of the focus in this section was on DC's emoting, as if talking to her girlfriends and confiding to them, and indeed to the audience around the multiverse, at one point even (again, slightly mockingly), pulling her hands to her chest. Then, as the music began to ramp up again again, there were flashes of the purple lighting again, as if trying to break back into the scene, and a few quick shots from different angles.

Et parfois j’me réveille en me sentant coupable,
Comme si c’était normal d’écouter l’inécoutable.
On m’a appris à sourire, à tout encaisser,
À faire semblant d’trouver tout profond
Et ça m’use, parfois, de jouer la patiente,
Et si j’retombe dans ce piège, don’t stop, je le sais,
J’fais d’mon mieux… et au pire, j'me pardonnerai

One of the dancers who was kneeling down then produced a phone once more, holding it up to DC, again an old styled, rotary model. DC picked up the handset and again held it to her ear. Some more acting, as if she was dealing with once of the guys she was singing about followed. On 'Et parle à ton ego', she slammed the phone down, clearly making the point she'd finally snapped (at least for today); a close up shot captured the moment in an attempt to really make it pop. A close up on DC provided just enough time for this phone to be put to one side out of the way and for the dancers to get into their next positions.

Je me dis que ça ira mieux demain (Ton ego, ego)
Peut-être que j'laisserai ton message pour rien (Ton ego, ego)
Mais là, j’suis en mode ‘ne pas déranger’
Et toi, tu veux rejouer ton numéro
Joue avec ta main
Et parle à ton ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Ton ego, ego
Essaie demain si tu oses, chéri
Pas sûre d'répondre, mais ça pourrait être drôle

However, this time there was to be no perfect formation, and instead the dancing was much more fluid, but in the sense of them finally letting all of the energy out. The jackets were ripped off, ties flung to once side, there was a general sense again of something having finally snapped, a touch of organised chaos if you will. In all of this, DC herself remained her calm, effortless self, just trying to get through the chaos that is life. The final, closing shot once again focused on DC, and the dancers having returned to form a small group around her once again, and, as the music ended, they started laughing and playing about with each other, at first acting, and then genuinely celebrating that at last, the performance was over.

Appel en absence, encore ton 06,
Je lis ton nom et j’ai déjà mal au crâne, oh
Je n’ai pas de temps pour tes excuses stupides
Essaie demain quand t'auras guéri ton ego

Indeed, Doigtscrochus could now go back to being Périnne, and she was extremely relieved by this. At last, she was able to enjoy herself, to enjoy the evening, to try and just enjoy everything. She knew she'd be nervous again during the results, but at the same time she'd done what mattered. She'd hopefully just gained some new fans, and she hoped that somewhere out there, Normands and Picards would be cheering her on, as indeed they were. "Merci beaucoup!" she shouted as she briefly celebrated with her dancers, before they were rushed off stage and into the greenroom. Again, some things never change...

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:41 pm

lyrics Tracy Ainsley, Rebecca MacTàmhais (BECKEE) | music Christin Paterson, Ghyslaine Kendal
tune MEEK - Fabulous

After the highs of winning the 80th World Hit Festival, Estogium hosted a small edition of the WHF in Fort Avalanche, though the wintery conditions seemed to have made it difficult for nations to commit to going. With seven nations participating, Estogium sent ARCHAMBEAU with the song, “Lost Control”, a feel good number which received top points from Achaean Republic, but down to the fact that there were only six other participating nations, the scores were very tight in the end and while the nation was a few points away from victory, they landed in fifth place out of seven nations. Not bad, but not where Estogium would like to be. Once delegations had left Estogium, it was time to start planning who would be the next Estogian representative. There was a thorough internal search for an artist. They crossed BECKEE, a 27 year old singer from the capital Darlington who was chosen based on her style and edge, as well as her impressive vocals and confidence which she exudes through her personality and looks.

Fast forward a couple of months and here she is - on the world stage for the largest World Hit Festival in quite some time. Once the stage was ready, there was a huge applause for BECKEE who was standing in the middle of the stage with a huge grey puffer jacket on - as long as it was wide. She looked fantastic in it, however, with her make up on point and her hair done back in a bun, with these huge hoop earrings on. She was standing on a little podium with a microphone on a shiny stand in front of her. As the stage went dark, she took in a deep breath as the scene around her changed. As the song started, we focused on the piano before the camera pointed towards BECKEE. She was standing off to one side of the microphone, looking deep into the lens of the camera, with it slowly zooming closer and closer. While she was singing, you could tell that she had a little bit of a sass, with her facial expressions in line with what she was singing or movements like putting her hand over her eyes as she sings, “no tears will be shed”.

The time has come, what a relief,
We are closing this chapter.
Waited months and months for this,
And it’s come at the right moment
I worked like a mule,
Yet somehow I’m still drowning deep in debt,
End of an era, but oh no tears will be shed.

Don’t miss me too much,
After today you won’t see me again.
You got my address?
Just checking you know where to send my last cheque.
I’m moving forward, because I have a load of self-worth.
You can’t see it.

When singing the second half of the first verse, a steadicam joins her on the stage, starting from one side of the circular podium and slowly moving its way around her as she sings, “Don’t miss me too much”. There were certain effects on the camera as she was singing this bit, with the camera looking a little bit distorted with lights glistening around her to make her look even more heavenly than she already looks. She closes her eyes at the end of the verse before we head to the first chorus.

As the chorus starts, she quickly turns to the side to capture the camera from that side, using her leg and feet to tap along with the strong pulsating beat of the song. The lighting inside the auditorium changed rather suddenly, with strobe lighting making it seem suddenly quite tense which aligns with the instrumentation of the song. As the vocal chorus part came in, dancers appeared around her, coming from every corner of the image, with one of them summersaulting into the air a few metres behind her as though they were on a trampoline of some sort. At the end of the chorus, the lighting changed to a spotlight as a front on camera focused on BECKEE singing with her fantastic vocals.

The time has come, what a relief,
We are closing this chapter.
Waited months and months for this,
And it came at the right moment.
I worked like a mule,
Yet somehow I’m still drowning deep in debt,
End of an era, but oh no tears will be shed.

All the times you hurt me,
You didn’t think I would leave.
Filled my head with hate, in order to bring me down.
And oh, look what you’ve done;
I’m moving on.
You’ll be stuck here the rest of your life.
Wishing you made the same risks that I’m going to take,
But it’s too late.

As we went back into the section of the song where she was singing front on, the lights dimmed with a bright spotlight focused on just her - her glistening under the strong white lights. As we moved further into the second verse, the scenery behind her changed slowly to red, with a bright light facing her from the front. The camera slowly came to a stop after a while, having got closer and closer. There was still a main focus on her vocals, with a mixture of close-ups on her before going back to the longer shot. As we moved into the pre-chorus, the dancers came back onstage, leaning on her in a really sweet moment between her and her dancers.

Your words, they didn’t work.
Well perhaps,
At least not in the way you wanted it to.

At the end of that cute moment, the dancers quickly dispersed as she sang, "The time has come, what a relief" She had turned around in a similar way to how she was before, with pretty much the same thing happening as this time. As she was singing into the camera, there was a mixture of crazy acrobatics happening alongside lighting that fit how frantic things were on the stage.

The time has come, what a relief,
We are closing this chapter.
Waited months and months for this,
And it came at the right moment.
I worked like a mule,
Yet somehow I’m still drowning deep in debt,
End of an era, but no, no tears will be shed.

(We are closing this chapter!)
(It came at the right moment!)
(It’s the end of an era!)
(And no tears will be shed!)

After this emphatic bridge section, which was filled with a mixture of different camera shots and angles - from artistically blurry images to zoom outs and tilts. This moment was to lead to the explosive final chorus, with the stage bursting out in a multitude of colours. Large ribbons were blown onto the stage also, as more dancers appeared on the stage. Those watching on screen would be introduced to the whole set probably for the first time in the production. There were now two people on a trampoline on either side of her - with BECKEE still singing in the middle, on the podium. There were dancers flanking her on either side next on the main floor next to her.

The time has come, pop the champagne,
We are closing this chapter.
Waited months and months for this,
And it came at the right moment.
My credit card declined, so the next round is on you, I fear,
End of an era, but oh no tears will be shed.

Don’t miss me too much,
After today you won’t see me again.
You got my address?
Just checking you know where to send my last cheque.
I’m moving forwards, because I have a load of self-worth.
It is the end of an era.

At the end of the song, there was an explosion of pyrotechnics to compliment the golden pyrotechnics waterfall behind her. It was a great show-stopping way to end the performance. Once it came to an end, the audience came in with a polite applause. Whether it was going to be another good result for Estogium - only time will tell but at least Estogium now has the belief that it can make it far and even with the competition if they try hard enough. As the music ends, BECKEE let out a "Thank you everyone, I love you all!" Before they all left the stage together.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:46 pm

lyrics Octavia Grau | music Octavia Grau
tune Liz Phair - Satisfied

FRANKLY, IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE. While yes, the IGT was of course hoping to do well on their grand retour, the 81st World Hit Festival was an immensely competitive contest in which the IGT felt Carrelie could be drowned out. It was this mindset that they, CLEO, and indeed much of Carrelie entered the night with – maybe they'd place a respectable third, a fourth... at the most a second. It was this mindset that made CLEO's 1-point victory all the more surprising. Though it has not as of yet been publicly released (last anyone heard they couldn't get it up online because of licensing issues), the voting sequence of the 81st festival was a nail-biter for sure. Carrelie had come off the first round in last place, with 7 points. Logic therefore would dictate that they do well in the second phase – since a lack of 1–5 points would surely mean a surplus of sixes – but as things went on those watching became less and less certain. There was definitely a feeling of "what if everyone just gave us 1s?" going around, a fear of CLEO ending up like AKARi 21 editions prior, especially as Carrelie began in last... and then stayed there. Not even a six from Elejamie could dislodge the country from its perceived fate.

Of course, we all know that's not how it ended. A six from Beepee and a odds-defying six from Britonisea helped the Big Nation That Should've Already just eke past the favourite to win, securing Carrelie's first win in the contest. Where does a nation go from there? The IGT had followed up its previous record finish in WHF76 – a second, which was surprising given that Swenja's "007" was rather bland staging-wise – by promising to follow up with something and then withdrawing soon after... but with the contest coming physically to Carrelie that wouldn't be much of an option this time. So what now?

Enter Octavia. Octavia, born Octavia Grau, has already been known to Carrelie for quite a while. She was a teen idol for a while in the 90s, but of a different kind. She wasn't the type to be written about in twee magazines, coated in bright pink and frills and ribbons and that sort of thing, no. Octavia had much more of an edge, the voice of Carrelie's rebellious adolescents painted in red and black with a distinct white streak in her big, sort-of-proto-Scenecore hair. She was quite the name for a few years in the late 90s, with a string of successful singles and one great album, her 1998 magnum opus, the self-titled Octavia. It was a great ride for a while... until something happened. The money dried up, the record companies demanded something... different. And so came her 2003 album, somewhat appropriately titled Grau. It was a clear departure from her previous work, much more pop-oriented, much more... corporate. It was penned by a star-studded songwriting team, it was designed by committee, if it were the 2020s it would've bled KPIs, SEO, and deliverables. And it tanked. Hard. It wasn't long before Octavia was dropped by her label, and she soon faded into irrelevance.

That's not to say that she stopped making music, however. Far from it, in fact. She pivoted to more... professional ends, and soon became ubiquitous as a songwriter for many Carrelian productions. Eagle-eyed viewers would sometimes spot her name in the credits of episodes of L'Hôp or Infirmary 112 and tweet (or in cases, Conversate) about her about their newfound revelation. There were sometimes low-level rumblings when she would work on a big film, with fans of old music and 90s kids pointing and gawking at how their former favourite pop-punk star is now writing scores for a blockbuster... some would snark it'd be more successful than anything else she's done. It's from this career she was able to make quite a bit of money, upon which she was able to take a modest early retirement in 2018.

Of course, nothing lasts forever, not even retirement. Grau felt that, in her years of being able to pursue some of her other passions, something stirred deep within her. She had it all – her loving wife, her wonderful children... but what was missing? It wasn't until she was gifted a guitar for her birthday in 2024 that she realised – she was itching to get back into music. It wouldn't be long before she was back on the road again, back to sharing bits of her with the world. The taste of stardom yet lingered. It was a sweet taste on her tongue.

And now, Octavia was standing in Morizécourt. It wasn't a place she was familiar with – she was always a child of Sorechland, on the other side of Carrelie, and hadn't done much in Douria outside of Mont-Sanguine and Depelier. If anything, her preference throughout the bidding period was for the contest to be held in Mariensbourg, a city with which she had much more history, somewhere she'd spent a lot more time. But she wouldn't let her presence in her dispreferred venue dissuade her, in fact, she'd found Morizécourt to be a lovely, quaint little city. It reminded her of her childhood, in the town of Börtewitz-am-Ord – a rushing river, embankments, an oddly thriving nightlife... it was almost nostalgic.

But standing here on stage, she wasn't feeling that nostalgia in the slightest. If anything, she was terrified. So much could go wrong with this performance, and what then? Octavia's personality in her heyday had always been quite brash and uncompromising, but the years had given way to a much more... soft inner core, around which the shell of that personality was built. In a way it's reflected in her recent output, including her entry. On stage, she's wearing a rather unassuming outfit, a rather alternative-looking layered top contrasted with shorts and boots – it's quite American in flair. Accompanying her on stage, broadly to her left, is a woman about her stature, dressed in a formal business suit. Behind them is the linchpin of the entry's staging concept – a large roll of paper attached to two rotating pipes to create a hand-crafted scrolling backdrop. It's placed conspicuously in front of both staircases.

As the music begins, Octavia and her unnamed backing dancer take hold of one another, going into a sort of understated ballroom dance. The backdrop shows, appropriately, a painted ballroom – quite regal, elegant. This all lasts until the third line, "But I’m always disappointed these days", at which point Octavia is dropped unceremoniously to the floor, and the camera cuts to a shot of her, lying on the floor facing the live audience. Only this live audience would really see the changing backdrop, as the paper scrolls to reveal another hand-painted scene – the same ballroom, but in much darker colours.

Wanting only for it to be
A whirlwind love story
But I’m always disappointed these days
Your hair was long and your eyes were wild
Your looks had me so beguiled
So why’d you leave me in a haze?

As the song moves into its first pre-chorus, Octavia picks herself up and faces towards her lover, located to her left downstage. The camera focuses first on her face, before cutting to reveal a mannequin, dressed in her lover's clothes, a superficial, "plastic love". A deeper analysis could say that the mannequin represents Octavia's superficial view of the described relationship – the staging department itself wouldn't comment.

And then, the song moves into its chorus. Suddenly, the mannequin is switched with a live human being, who quickly joins Octavia in a slow dance. The camera cuts to an over-the-shoulder shot of Octavia, who looks less sure of herself than perhaps she should.

Leben in die Plastikliebe
Oberflächliches Ende

Sag mir, dass es nicht wahr ist
Für immer und ewig
War alles, was wir hatten, Mist?
Jetzt wünschte ich, ich wäre allein
Für immer und ewig
Und es sollte für immer sein

At the end of the chorus, the dancer slips from Octavia's grasp, heading behind the backdrop. She's replaced by the same mannequin, now crouching, as the backdrop begins to scroll, revealing a dirt road in front of a picturesque hilly landscape modelled on the D'Harz mountain range in Avaria. Octavia climbs onto the mannequin's shoulders facing stage left as the nameless backing dancer pushes a wind machine in front of her just out of the front-on camera view. In a sense, it looks as if Octavia's imagining herself riding a motorcycle. At the fourth line of the verse, she dismounts the mannequin, reaching forward into the wind . The camera shows a view from the wind's perspective as she sings the pre-chorus.

It was, you were, we could have been
But now it’s just memories, paper-thin
Looking at you now, you’ve lost your shine
Why does guilt shiver down my spine?

Leben in die Plastikliebe
Oberflächliches Ende

Sag mir, dass es nicht wahr ist
Für immer und ewig
War alles, was wir hatten, Mist?
Jetzt wünschte ich, ich wäre allein
Für immer und ewig
Und es sollte für immer sein

The dancer tries to separate from a clearly desperate Octavia, who clings on to her suit. The suit tears, revealing a shiny, plastic-looking white dress under it – yet another reflection of the perfect relationship Octavia never had.

Und ich wollte so viel
Du wolltest so wenig

Sag mir, dass es nicht wahr ist
Für immer und ewig
War alles, was wir hatten, Mist?
Jetzt wünschte ich, ich wäre allein
Für immer und ewig
Und es sollte für immer sein

(Wanting for only for it to be) (Immer sein)
(A whirlwind love story)
(Und es sollte für immer sein)

Her lover leaves, and Octavia is resigned to dragging the mannequin across the floor as to sort of mimic a slow dance – it's purposefully clunky and inelegant in contrast with the returned ballroom backdrop. She slows to a stop, and throws the mannequin to the side, finally discarding it as the song draws to a close with the same refrain with which it opened.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:50 pm

lyrics Anthony Schottert, Amien Haddad | music Anthony Schottert, Amien Haddad
tune Hael Hussaini - Diam

Anthony Schottert or previously known by his stage name Tony is a South Alezian rock singer from Doorsbreekenstad, South Alezia (although since he escaped pre-reunification South Alezia in 2008, Anthony has been mostly living in Dos, Zafizamarrah, North Alezia*). Born in 1991, Anthony has won multiple music awards in the Alezian music scene, participated in the annual AleziRadio multiple times, a multiple-time Operation:WorldVision participant, and a lot more. Anthony escaped from Hoojvinken-era South Alezia to North Alezia. And due to the very difficult truth regarding South Alezian back then, he had no choice but to join the North Alezian Military Forces from 2009-2016. Trust us, this will be very important when you check the details further. Anyway, after some time, Anthony was honorably discharged and allows himself to do more of his hobbies which include music. His YouTube videos of solo covers gained online attention from all facets of Alezian life, and that also includes attention from BreixRecords Alezia. This further elevates his visibility, and then this is pushed further by him participating in Operation:WorldVision at one time, then writing some more entries.

* = Local superstition says that it's very good luck to play that song when referring to the town of Dos. The town itself was founded in 1980 so the founder might be inspired to name the town from the song- actually, no one even knows who founded Dos what the heck.

Anthony is selected by ABA Zafizamarrah (the North Alezian part of the ABA actually). The 35 year old ex-military singer and actor has been seeking to update his image into someone who is more able to express his feelings more freely. This is reflected by his eponymously named album "Anthony Schottert" where the singer has 12 songs that discusses so many real-life problems that would be way too complex if we explain it to you here. Actually you know what? The song Anthony is competing with has TONNES of explanation. For your information, this is the first time the ABA sends a song rated D: aka for mature audiences to an international competition. This might be cause for international concern, but the ABA and Anthony's team has reassured everyone that whatever be shown to primetime television will be in full adherance to international broadcasting regulation. ABA selected the song itself because not only is the song very personal to Tony, but it reflects current world problems that Tony and other military veterans may experience.

"Tiarap!" which in English would be roughly translated to "Get Down!" as if, the command from a commanding officer to allow their soldiers to avoid any kinds of danger. Anthony himself had to abide by this single word every single time, mostly because he was actually in a warzone for a while in Pantabang Islands between North Alezia and Hoojvinken-era South Alezia. It's not exactly an active war, but confrontation comes sporadically that things just became unpredictable. And it hurts Anthony to fight his fellow South Alezians, but he back then, as a South Alezian with no education background (or at least, any education background that the North Alezian government would accept at the time), had no choice like many defectors to join the North Alezian military before joining North Alezian society. So the first purpose is that: to reflect on Anthony's past being in a warzone.

The second purpose is a simple phrase: international peace. While writing this song with Amien Haddad, Anthony kept questioning about how many more soldiers has to be sent out there before the global elite gets the message that warfare does not solve anything but ego? How pain and hurt remained unaddressed by governments, how now the clock strikes closer and closer to midnight, how people kept electing ego and arrogance over love and mercy. How now it seems like most of humanity has learned to force feeling helpless because they don't rule the world. Now. This seems like your usual innocent peace message. Why does the ABA rate the song for adults? It might have something to do with Anthony's music video showing the horrors of war and blood, that its deemed excessive by the ABA and an automatic detection meant that the music video uploaded to Youtube and Arico.net had to be restricted. As a result, while ABA deemed the whole concept as innovative (and genuinely seriously eye-opening), the broadcaster also asked Anthony and his team to tone it down which they would do as a sign of respect for everyone in Morizécourt and at home. They'll even change the lyrics for the World Hit Festival to be less "vulgar". But the message stays.

For an Alezian team to visit Morizécourt, Carrelie after the country left the WMCA Alliance is... awkward... at times. You can see that negotiations between the two sides are still ongoing regarding where Carrelie will go after this, but you can see Carrelians taking off anything WMCA related. Such is the exercise of sovereignty, and all Alezia had to do is to just reset its relationship with Carrlie to the Wide Open Policy of 1989 and now things are building up again. But still, even with how very recently Alezia enters the round of "acceptance" in the 5 stages of grief, Alezia loves quality production. And the Carrelians just showcased how to do that. The Alezian team couldn't resist complimenting the production IGT who just had the masterful talent to knock out the park. It might be smaller than other Carrelian cities, and the French cuisine suit a Pantabang Islander more than the South Alezian who would "overspice everything" and mock the North Alezians for bland food, but Morizécourt gave the team a lot of inspiration for what they're going to do on stage.

Tiarap...
Tiarap...
Tiarap...

Dalam dunia yang tak jawab pasti,
Dunia yang sudah tak dapat memberi,
Harapan ataupun cinta,
Karena kertas tercoreng tinta

Dalam dunia yang berlumur darah,
Dunia tanpa pelipur lara,
Dan tanpa, berkata maafkan,
Ha-ha kita dikuasai ego

Tiarap...
Ini solusi t'rakhirmu
Sungguh malangnya, malangnya,
Sayangnya kau bukan penguasa dunia, kau harus tetap tiarap

Ini perisai t'rakhirmu
Sungguh perihnya, perihnya,
Kar'na apapun yang kan terjadi padamu, kau harus tetap tiarap!

Dalam dunia yang amat serakah,
Dunia sarat saling tusuk,
Menusuk, dari belakang
Pada punggung yang tak punya dosa

Dalam dunia terobsesi menang
Dunia sarat saling curi,
Mencuri, mencuri darimu
Ha-ha, mereka tak punya malu

Tiarap...
Ini solusi t'rakhirmu
Sungguh malangnya, malangnya,
Sayangnya kau bukan penguasa dunia, kau harus tetap tiarap

Ini perisai t'rakhirmu
Sungguh perihnya, perihnya,

Kar'na apapun yang kan terjadi padamu, kau harus tetap tiarap!

Sudah cukup ku bertahan,
Gertaki aku,
Hancurnya,
Hancurnya diriku berkorban demi dia meski harus tiarap!

Sudah cukup ku berkata,
Patahkan aku,
Sakitnya,
Oh, Sakitnya diriku tertatih pedih meskipun harus tiarap!

Hancurnya diriku berkorban demi dia meski harus tiarap!

Di mana kau saat aku tiarap?!
Di mana cinta yang dijanjikan?!

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 13, 2026 1:55 pm

Misschien vandaag, misschien morgen, misschien nooit, nooit
Op afstand willen, geen hints geven, nou, heb ik dat ooit, ooit?
Jij maakt van mij - wat jij van mij maakt
Geef me wat tijd, geef me wat ruimte, geef me een signaal, signaal
Zul je hier zijn, dicht bij mij, zul je, helemaal, helemaal?
Ik maak van jou - wat ik van jou maak

Maar ik wil ontsnappen
Verwarring, waanzin, nu instappen
Haal me alsjeblieft uit de crisis
Ik wil alleen maar weten

Baby, hoor mijn hart tekeergaan
Wat is het nut van afwachten?
Geef me een teken
Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt
Baby, ik heb me altijd voorgesteld
Ik heb je altijd al gewild
Geef me een teken
Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt

Wat heeft het voor zin als je er niet bent, niet bent?
Geef me een keuze, ik geef je een kans, aan elkaar geketend, -ketend
Jij maakt van mij - wat jij van mij maakt

Maar ik wil ontsnappen
Verwarring, waanzin, nu instappen
Haal me alsjeblieft uit de crisis
Ik wil alleen maar weten

Baby, hoor mijn hart tekeergaan
Wat is het nut van afwachten?
Geef me een teken
Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt
Baby, ik heb me altijd voorgesteld
Ik heb je altijd al gewild
Geef me een teken
Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt

Ik ben het wachten moe, laat me in je armen
Ik weet dat je me wilt, deze wervelende romance
(Deze wervelende romance)
Ik weet dat je me wilt, deze wervelende romance, oh-oh, oh-oh

Oh my baby, hoor mijn hart tekeergaan
Wat is het nut van afwachten?
Geef me een teken
Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt
Baby, ik heb me altijd voorgesteld
Ik heb je altijd al gewild
Geef me een teken
Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt

Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt
Wat je van me maakt, wat je van me maakt

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 12:28 pm

Annemarije: Thanks again to Vonnie De Clerq for that wonderful performance – what a contest it's been! We've seen a whopping 14 countries, the most in 20 whole editions, perform here live in Morizécourt, and I've enjoyed every second of it!

Juliet: Now it's time for the exciting part. Everyone's voted, all the decisions have been made – it's time to hear who's won the 82nd World Hit Festival here in Morizécourt. First we'll go through each entry in running order to find out how many 1, 2, 3, and 4 points they received, before meeting the jury spokesmen and women in person for their all-important cinq points. Let's begin phase one.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 12:31 pm

Juliet: Tomerion is here with their very first entry to the WHF – "Onyx Eyes" by Kent Hylland. Did they wow audiences tonight? Tomerion received...

2 points.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 12:35 pm

Annemarije: Incess Bella's "Hedon" placed around the middle when it was sent to WorldVision in November, but Fromulya's looking for another chance to win. Can they do better here? In the first phase, Fromulya received...

4 points.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 12:40 pm

Juliet: Performing "Sin Querer", Claudiosa's fame also seemed to come about... accidentally! Is it enough to take her all the way to the WHF hall of fame? In Phase One, the Achaean Republic received...

12 points!

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 12:45 pm

Annemarije: Britonisea are definitely the "superstars" of WHF, aren't they?

Juliet: They sure are. They've won eleven times, and are now aiming for their "apex" – a twelfth trophy. We'll see if they can do it. In the first phase, Britonisea received...

29 points!
Putting them well in the lead!

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 12:50 pm

Annemarije: It's been a while since Natanya showed themselves in this contest – they've not participated since WHF69! Will these results be their dream or nightmare? The first phases awarded Natanya...

4 points.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 12:55 pm

Annemarije: Beepee's Rita Book showed us the wonders of Walking in Yerevan, and delivered a very strong performance! Will it be strong enough for us to go walking in Norfolk Pinewoods for WHF83? Beepee, you've received...

6 points!

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 1:00 pm

Juliet: Let's move on to Axuva. Axuva's been a mainstay in both WHF and WorldVision, but it's never won either contest. Let's see if Roman Kwon and Aquarina can change that tonight. Axuva received...

3 points.

by **Carrelie** » Mon Apr 20, 2026 1:05 pm

Annemarije: Bhumi Matawis Empire is another one of our débutants this edition, and their "Love Don't" definitely captured a fair few hearts here in the Salle. Did they capture the juries' hearts? They received...

12 points!

World Hit Festival 82 in Morizécourt | Festival Thread

World Hit Festival 82 in Morizécourt | Festival Thread

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