Coming soon…
Perhaps Generalissimo http://nswiki.org/index.php?title=Ankyola_Bikongi should’ve dialed back the panache. After all, to officially call one’s self a president, one needed to have regular elections, at least per what was written in the bylaws of Shango - NSWiki, a central island-nation on Urth near the Aequator that had historically served as an important seafaring route for those seeking to trade across the large continents of the planet. Bikongi assumed power some five years ago during a presidential election that featured no less than three dozen candidates. Now, in the Summer of 2019, it was assumed she would have relatively little difficulty in dispatching the two opponents that ran against her. Shango was at peace, was prosperous, and was relatively stable. And the Mos’ Def Top Bop did win handedly - securing some 79% of the votes. However, that wasn’t enough for their cavalier leader, so she demanded a recount, which netted her 80.2% of the vote. Still not good enough. Threats were volleyed at both candidates, and an emergency re-vote was mandated by the incumbent. Yet before native Shangoese headed once again to the polls, both candidates withdrew from the race. It seemed that the government of Shango had performed a little bit of background research on both candidates and found “questionable activity” in the lives of both otherwise upstanding individuals, and would call off these investigations in return for “laying low”. In the end, Bikongi “survived” with 99.7% of the vote. Sure, Vekaiyu would condemn the vote, but what did they know? As Bikongi quipped, “at least we be havin’ electissimos, while you be dict with the tatin’.” The quote understandably did not sit well with Premier Levinile, who rolled her eyes and knew she’d likely need to schedule a meeting the next time she vacationed to their lands.
But all that was behind the nation, and with status quo assured, Shango set up plans for Urthvision XI, which included plans in case any nations would protest on account of their sketchy elections. With the whirlwind of politics drumming a beat along the capital of Wombo Lombo and several other major coastal cities on their island, one might expect the entire nation would feel the heartbeat of excitement as it pulsed through the warm, sweet-smelling air. Hah. Tell that to the jungles deep within the nation and its mountainous core. Shango was, and always will be, there. It exists, because the island is alive, and no recent internal struggles or hosting events would take that away. The bushnus would continue to graze, the mak-waks would still fly high into the azure sky, and the itkagis would always howl every dusk in the canopies of the luscious rainforests. Shango was alive, regardless of the downed tanks and abandoned military equipment of the past. No president could take Shango away, after all. And no event would change the island, because it was bigger than all of that.
But if the bushnus grazed, and the mak-waks flew, and the primate itkagis howled, who purveyed? Why, that would be the Shangoese, of course, who were majority lemurian - the only native sentient species to the island. Majority, because there were other species, of course. Shango was a Vekaiyun colony at one point, so missionary relics still populated the towns and vulpines dissatisfied with life elsewhere still called this little chunk of paradise home. But lemurs had advantages in prehensile tails, so their cities had perches where they could swing and hang. There were other things their tails were for - generally decoration, like painted with different dyes to signify warrior from priest, and so on. One such feature was the stripes, which weren’t present in adults. So, when a Shangoese lemur was filmed walking out of a dense jungle and into the bright sunlight while bright, cheery music was playing, every lemur could immediately tell she was a child. Children, it seemed, would be wise to announce their intentions with this eleventh iteration of the song contest.
She looked up to the sky as the light doused her in a healthy glow, then turned to the camera with a toothy yet adorable grin. Speaking in Codexian with a noticeable bastardized Unonian accent, she proffered a single nod and spoke.
“Allow us to sing to you a dream!”
And, with that, the first Urthvision XI commercial out of the Shango nation was completed.
-OOC POST-
To submit an entry, Urthvision staff require the following information:
- Submitting nation
- Artist
- Song title (and a link to the song, preferably a live one)
- General description
- Optional: Something unique that happens during the song
Please provide in the style of a brief RP post. I will tailor it and place it into the contest!
Deadline for submissions: 10/21/19. Host reserves the right to extend submissions.
The open-air stadium of Ilhasse sen Ikogi was a bit noisy, to say the least. Sitting on the edge of Wombo Lombo, hugging the distant mountains and peering over the start of the jungle’s reclaim on the large island, was a stadium built about 15 years ago, much to the delight of the native sentient population. However, all stadiums have their problems, and ISI was no different. Acoustic problems, brought on by the thick concrete roof now greened by the moss and other plant species attempting to win out over sentience, was initially not a problem as the stadium would feature sporting events. However, when Papa Womba hosted a concert in 2007, it became clear that the stadium needed updates. Acoustic panels were installed, and updates to the audio systems were completed one year later, along with a large LED screen that would at times fall under disrepair.
It wasn’t that Shango lacked vision or foresight when they completed this stadium - they all knew upkeep would be high. Shango was a hot, humid place - pretty terrible conditions for any sort of electronic. Dampened circuit boards would fail after a period of time, and would sit idle for months until the grounds crew got around to replacing it. Tonight, all seemed to work, except for a small section of the screen that was black. Something was wrong with the feed, perhaps, but the show had to go on, even if the morning checks showed they were operation. Clearly, someone would lose their job over it, but that wouldn’t be until tomorrow. If the event went well, maybe they’d overlook this flaw.
But Ilhasse sen Ikogi was noisy, noisy from the fans in attendance, but also noisy from the jungle just outside of reach, with tens of thousands of crickets joining in and a symphony of various species keeping the nation alive well into the evening hours. The stadium was open-air, so of course any artist would need to drown out the ubiquitous nature around them.
Lemurians amassed into the stadium, a stadium that had both seating and polls for those with prehensile tails. From ground to ceiling, lemurs teemed about the cavernous quarters of their stadium. Aside from the odd seating, and perhaps the odd flashing lights that made the stadium appear as a spaceship at times, was the smell. Lemurs had a particular smell about them that was easily ignored by their ilk, but was kind of off-putting, a sort of wet dog smell that was kind of intense but seemed to lessen the longer others were around them. This was different than a vulpine smell, as their scent was much less intense, somewhat oil-like, and a bit sweeter overall. Nevertheless, that, along with the general manners of their kind, were difficult hurdles, as Shangoese had different customs unlike the societal norms of other nations. Food in their mouths didn’t stop them from talking, because they believed in multitasking. And their habit of drenching their food in various spices did wonders for the odors coming from their mouths.
Despite the northern hemisphere getting a dose of winter, seasons changed little at the Aequator, so the night was still warm, the air was still humid, and the rafters still had fans going to move the heavy air about. It felt only somewhat miserable, but the president of the nation, Ankyola Bikongi, seemed to be rather comfortable as she sat in her spacious seating and waved to those around, still wearing her characteristic aviator shades.
When the stadium felt like it was going to burst with lives from all over Urth, the crowd fell to a hush as a countdown from 20 started. The countdown, however, was in Unonian. Of course, it had to be one of those nations that still spoke a minority language. No worries, however, as there were translators who had generally ditched their classic Shangoese accents in favor of speaking a bit more clearly.
To open the event, rather than announce the openings of the event, a single Shangoese lemur announcer, dressed in the Vekaiyun flare of tuxedos, proffered a toothy grin and a nod of the head. “Aya-ladies and gentlemen, Papa Womba.”
Papa Womba was, of course, the king of Shangoese music, formerly dubbed Vekaiyun-Shangoese due to a similar timestep, but the music is, of course, distinctively Shangoese. His song, Sama Ze Y Walulo, is a journey from the lightly-populated and bright sunned canopies down to the floor, which is also full of life, but also full of death and regrowth.
With the crowd warmed up and ready to go, one would presume that the festivities would begin. Not so, in the hot, steamy nation of Shango. Instead, the announcer indicated that Akyala Imlestravi would soon take the stage as the crowd erupted in a cacophony of cheer. Imlestravi and her patented brand of fiery Walelan beat hailing from the eastern coast of Shango won Urthvision X. Imlestravi arrived on the scene some thirty years ago with a desire to popularize Walelan sound over the more lucrative Vekaiyun-Shango creole music. A three-time platinum artist, Akyala Imlestravi performed Agolo, another song sung in native Shangoese. This song features almost a nihilistic view common in Shangoese society: all the work and toil one does in one’s life matters little to the large island, which still has flowing rivers and still has dense jungles. It will be there long after everyone in the stadium has since passed, and a certain healthy respect for the fertile island is definitely warranted.
Now begins the entire reason folks populated the stadium and sat in front of their televisions for, the beginning of Urthvision XI! The announcer did the best he could to pronounce the names of all nations and bands, along with their song titles and a brief introduction. He spoke in Shangoese first, then Unonian, then Codexian, all with a relatively dampened accent. It was painful, sure, and the introductions dragged on, and maybe those who weren’t used to the accent couldn’t understand parts or sections, but it was clear that this nation simply didn’t care if its accents were thick or not. They were, after all, generally isolated from the rest of the world.
We begin our festivities from a new sensation out of New Leganés, with the title of “Say It Right” by Néla Furtado!
Néla Furtado was born December 2nd, 1978, in Privétia Tauríllien. Her parents moved from Fórndinge to PT two years before she was born. The Fórndinge culture she absorbed at home would influence her musical career notably, as she started singing in Fórndinge dialect being only 4 years old. When she was 17, she joined a hip-hop band, but she felt hip-hop could not show her full singing abilities. After participating in several contests, she signed with a music company and started recording her own songs. In 2002 she was #1 in the Cukish charts with “I’m Like A Bird”, and her album “Whoa, Nelly!” was #1 as well.
After the huge success, she had a daughter and retired for a time from the musical scene. She returned in 2009 with her album “Folklore”, combining Fórndinge traditional music with pop. In 2015 she started to work with the producer Timbaland, who started producing with her a song for Urthvision in 2018. The result was “Say It Right”, which won Cukishvision contest and was elected for Urthvision XI.
Say It Right was born from Néla’s idea of combining urban sounds, pop and “mysterious” deep sounds and reverbs from the music of late 80’s made with keyboard. The lyrics are about a girl insecure of entering in a love relationship with a man with bad reputation. Part of the performance shows the urban panorama of Privétia Tauríllien, while she performs with Timbaland on black and white background. This song comes from New Leganés to surround you with an atmosphere of mystery and to assure you will never forget such a catchy rhythm!
With that, we turn our attention to the next entrant. Out of the nation of Tivot comes an old standby, one that has produced countless hits for their citizenry and those fans abroad. Here to present “Gone and Passed” is Red kNight!
Red kNight is a band formed in the late 1990's during a tumultuous time in Salovia, in the midst of a deadly civil war. Released in 2005 "Wake Me Up" was written soon after the death of lead singer Ivan Evanovich's father, who was killed in action in the battle of Astrakhan in 2003. The delay in the release of the song was planned, to correspond with the end of the civil war to commemorate and honor not only his father, but also the millions of lives lost. Some of their other songs include "Dumb," "Lonely Road," and "Salovian Idiot" to name a few.After the peppy rendition from Red kNight comes Jamiroquai. Originating from Kyrloth, Jamiroquai are a funk-jazz-electronic band from Azmarin, Kyrloth, who formed way back in 1992 and are still performing and releasing albums to this day, of which they’ve sold over twenty-five million. First hitting the charts in '96 with their legendary music video for Virtual Insanity, their love of interesting instrumentation, chord structures - and headwear - has propelled them to several number one hits on the Kyrloth Radio Charts and beyond. After several years of radio silence, they’ve returned with a new album, Automaton, and a hit single of the same name, making its debut here at Urthvision XI.
The hot Shangoese air blowing in from the coast begins to cool down as the night continues. By now, all stadium lights are on, and only a few miles inland is the dense, now dark jungle. Attendees have likely become used to the cramped confines of ISI, but with the security force ubiquitous, at least one could feel safe in this wild city. Norgsveldet has sent their artist Ivar Rybak an singer from Eyjaria. The song title is “I am in love”. The song is about Ivar’s ex-girlfriend where he compares her to the Norgsveltian folklore figure Huldra. He has become famous both in Eyjaria and Norgsveldet. His hope is to be available to perform in Sani Bursil.
Now our next submission comes from a country that hasn’t been too much on the international spotlight in recent years. The United Provinces of Reyamyu have staked a submission in this year’s Urthvision and are confident in their turnout based on the amount of attendees from their nation. Their submission tonight hails from a local band from the country of mostly Cerdan men and women who are Reyamyun citizens. Their name is Boney M and they have topped charts in Reyamyu in recent years. Their submission tonight regards their life of forming the band in the 2000s in Belfast, and have written a song for the city! I am certainly glad for the people in Belfast to be able to be represented tonight as well as the United Provinces of Reyamyu!
No Urthvision would be complete without an entrant from Blueacia, of course. Even the Shangoese were used to their performances by now, and they seemed to warm up to their renditions, even as the announcer struggled to pronounce their nation name correctly. Daan Veer from Blueacia serenades us with his own song, Rocky Ride!
After Blueacia's second place last edition, the Blueacian organizers knew they were on the right path of the kind of song. For this edition they asked singers to come up with a slow-ish song in the same trance of what happened last edition. Daan is a very talented yet unknown singer in Blueacia. He's a returning guest to one of Blueacia's most famous sport talkshows and he's written the intro for that show. He's made some more songs, but when he wrote this song then submitted it to the Blueacian organizers and they choose this song is a live radio broadcast it was an instant hit. It has been in the Blueacian top 40 hitlist since the first time it came out.As the evening continued to grow, the list of performers continued to march forward. Another stalwart of the Urthvision circuit, East Malaysia comes next with one of their own receiving a warm reception from their home faithful. DARK from East Malaysia is a coed group that formed a few years ago and was runner up on Peregrin Idol. Their latest hit “We Go Down,” was at number one for 13 weeks and now they’re here to preform their chart topping hit live!
From Masceola comes another veteran band, Lustine, with their song The Desert. Lustine is a band that formed in Cedar Valley, Masceola 4 hours southwest of Ostradov, the band was formed in the early 90s, and they hit their popularity in the late 90s with their single “Desert”, the band remains active to this day with its 4 original members still active, although they no longer make albums or singles, only do live shows and tours. It seems, when the band was being announced, that Dylan is heard wishing everyone a good summer and a good rest of the millenium
As the festivities drew to a close, no seats were vacated - everyone was in this for the long haul, it seemed. Next was a performance from the nation of South Staynes. A young prominent artist who busked in the streets of Kirdintayos, the capital of South Staynes, he was recognised from his song “Sun Don’t Shine” which became the number 2 hit in Morstaybishlia in June and July 2019.
The final entrant in Urthvision, Listonia, features the group Silesi Iyastazi, with their airy piece, The Wheat Bends Slowly. The reception for their performance was tepid, at first, but fairly enthusiastic overall. After all, Silesi Iyastazi was Listonia’s selection, but their music is a bit different from Listonian standard. Even the lead singer, Ankya Ilyatera, refers to their current theme as “auditory dadaism” and “hyperventilating meditation”.
And with that, the festivities draw to a close. The rhythm of the jungle continues far into the night, for the jungle is forever, and the lives of those who occupy it, fleeting.We have ten entrants in this competition. That makes things easy. Voting will occur as follows:
12 points go to the national winner
10 points go to 2nd place
8 points go to 3rd place
7 points go to 4th place
6 points go to 5th place
5 points go to 6th place
4 points go to 7th place
3 points go to 8th place
2 points go to 9th place
0 points go to last place.
Please have all votes submitted by 11/17/19 at midnight EST. Thanks!
Here are the Blueacian points:
(OOC: if clip above doesn’t work) https://spark.adobe.com/video/wCcT2eZyBJjes
Pre-Results Show
The Results
After a series of votes throughout Tivot, the results are finally in!
With 2 points, Listonia takes 9th place!
With 3 points, Kyrloth takes 8th place!
With 4 points, Reyamyu takes 7th place!
With 5 points, South Staynes takes 6th place!
With 6 points, New Leganes takes 5th place!
With 7 points, Masceola takes 4th place!
With 8 points, East Malaysia takes 3rd place!
With 10 points, Blueacia takes 2nd place!
and last but not least, with the winning 12 points, Norgsveldet takes 1st!
Congratulations to Ivar Rybak for winning the Tivotian vote!
From New Leganés to Urth
Cukish points on Urthvision XI
Brought to you by… Pétra Méde and Miké Nózhne
"¡Riés nátu vedérek, nacióner Úrthle!
¡Buenas noches, naciones de Urth!
Good evening, nations of Urth!
It’s me, Pétra, striking back on Urthvision! After having some “technical” troubles on last edition, I’ve managed to present myself finally on a serious way. You asking about the bicycle? About the flowers? Well, being serious doesn’t mean not being environment friendly. I’m completely serious, as real as this bike I’m riding.
This time, I’m actually in front of Porósin, no chroma keys around here… ─seems to touch a screen but nothing really around there─ or around here ─seems to touch again─. But you don’t need any surprise now, I have right here the last Cukish entry on Urthvision: Miké Nózhne!!!”
Pétra laughs in an evil way and Miké suddenly appears, scaring even Pétra herself.
“Heeeeyyy!!! Good evening Urth!! It’s Miké again around here. But it’s not my time to sing, as has done my successor, Néla. We’re looking at you all right now, so you’d better give her the highest points or consequences… Well, it’s only your election. New Leganés has elected its favorite entries as well, and I have right here which are they. So, I’ll not make you wait anymore: here you have the votes from New Leganés!!!
Unfortunately, 2 points go to the impressive song from Silesi Iyastazi and Listonia.
3 points are on their way to Reyamyu, new in Urthvision! Hope they are back in the future
4 points go and pass into the nation of Red kNight, Tivot!
5 points go to the south, to a place where the sun actually shines, South Staynes!
I have around here 6 points with the name of Masceola, where they will go!
7 points go to another successful group from East Malaysia, DARK!
Aaaaaannnnddd… here come the three most voted nations by Cukishes!!!
In third place, with 8 points, comes a nation Pétra knows well. I’m talking about the twinner of Urthvision VII, Blueacia, with their amazing song Rocky Ride!!
Do you want me to say first the nation with 12 Cukish points and end quickly? Well, I won’t do so.
The second position in Cukish votes, with 10 points directly to their homeland, is… Kyrloth!!! Congratulations to Jamiroquai, love their song and their curious name!
So, one nation is left. The most voted nation by New Leganés, which takes the amount of 12 points, is, consequently, Norgsveldet!!! I must give Ivar my highest congratulations, he was my favorite and without any doubt he and his violin deserve the highest points from New Leganés!”
“The results have been announced, and it’s our time to go until next edition. Good luck to our beloved Néla, and congratulations to our neighbours from Shango for making such a great edition. Good evening, good luck, and see you in Urthvision XII!!! Remember life is as serious as you want it to be.” Pétra ended.
The people of South Staynes have DECIDED! We must say that before we count the scores, what an incredible turnout, venue and atmosphere from here in Wombo Lombo! The points are in:
Coming in with 2 points, Kyrloth’s funky music slots into 9th place!
Up next, and with 3 points, Reyamyu’s lush tempo goes into 8th place!
Now it’s time for with 4 points, Listonia’s other-worldly music takes 7th place!
With 5 points, Tivot’s iconic song goes into 6th place!
With 6 points, Masceola’s great tune takes 5th place!
With 7 points, Norgsveldet’s eccentric song slots into 4th place!
With 8 points, New Leganes’ calm beat song takes 3rd place!
With 10 points, the magical band from East Malaysia goes into 2nd place!
Finally… With the top turnout and prize of 12 points, the man from Blueacia, Daan Vaar’s incredible vocals bags it and steals 1st place!
Well done everyone!
“Good evening Urth!” Ragnar Ivarson said loudly in the mic as the camra focused on him, straightning his tie and trying to calm himself from his excitement. “As you guys may have guessed there is an imense excitement in the air in Osfjord!” Ragnar says as an distant feminine yell saying “Vi elsker deg Ivar! (we love you Ivar)” coming from the audience. With an hearthy laugh Ragnar coming from “As you hear we are very happy for the points, Ivar Rybak you have done wonderfully!” Ragnar says loudly as the audience cheers. “But you not here to hear me ramble on about the obvious excitement here, you here for the points!”
“2 points goes to Kyrloth and their Jamiroquai!”
“3 points to New Leganés, with the song “Say It Right” of Néla Furtado. Personaly it was one of my favourites!”
“4 points goes to South Staynes”
“5 points goes to United Provinces of Reyamyu!”
“6 points goes to Blueacia”
“7 points goes to Masceola”
“8 points goes to DARK from East Malaysia. Would love to go down there to listen to you perform live!”
“For our 10 points it will go to “Gone and Passed” is Red knight from Tivot!”
“For our big 12, our national winner who got 2 million more votes then second place is… Listonia! Congratulation!”
[broadcast 1345-br-01-14.01.51]
Tesara Nira
Sund! Hello Shango! I’m Tesara Nira and I’m here in beautiful Azmarin Zlovskavaar, Kyrloth! The Board of Elections has popped around to go over all the votes and make sure everything’s running as it should. As one of the very few democracies on Borea, we take democracy very seriously, which is why our crew went to the director of the Board of Elections and badgered him until he agreed to have his team oversee the televote. And he’s here today!
Lokka Silmat
We really should be getting on with the restoration of democracy to Izria, you know. We don’t really have time for this kind of frivolit–
Tesara Nira (interrupting)
Huge thanks to the Elections Board for helping us all out! And without further ado, the votes from Kyrloth!
After a much debated voting process, and week of much drama throughout the country and the media, the Masceolan Votes are Final!
12 points go Blueacia
10 points go to New Leganes
8 points go to Kyrolth
7 points go to Reyamyu
6 points go to Listonia
5 points go to South Staynes
4 points go to Norgsveldet
3 points go to Tivot
2 points go to East Malaysia
12 points go to South Staynes
10 points go to Kyrloth
8 points go to Listonia
7 points go to Norgsveldet
6 points go to East Malaysia
5 points go to Tivot
4 points go to Masceola
3 points go to New Leganes
2 points go to Blueacia
Listonia presents the following votes!
With 2 points, East Malaysia earns 9th place!
With 3 points, South Staynes settles with 8th place!
With 4 points, Masceola secures 7th place!
With 5 points, Kyrloth obtains 6th place!
With 6 points, Norgsveldet takes 5th place!
With 7 points, Blueacia slots into 4th place!
With 8 points, Reyamyu nabs 3rd place!
With 10 points, Tivot climbs to 2nd place!
With 12 points, New Leganés wins 1st place!