Voice of Siora

Voice of Siora International Song Contest

Kent, winner of 1582 cycle, performs opening concert in Isort, 1584.

The Voice of Siora International Song Contest (popularly referred to as Voice of Siora; abbreviated VoS) is a biennial international music competition presented by the Sioran Broadcasting Alliance's global network of partner stations. Initiated in 1574, the contest was designed to promote international cooperation, the sharing of cultures and the coming together of peoples of all heritages. The contest has run for six cycles with a seventh cycle slated for 1586. It is the most watched non-sporting event globally with total international viewership of the broadcast of the 1584 Live Phase held in Nyland estimated to be between 300 and 500 million.

The contest consists of two main phases: the Studio Phase, in which participating nations broadcast their artist's song over the radio and online, which is completed with the Preliminary Vote; and the Live Phase, in which participating artists create a second, unique song to be performed live on stage at the location designated by the host nation. The competition is concluded with the Final Vote, at which point a winner is announced and designated to be the host of the next competition.

Although it is expected that the designated host nation will provide the contest venue and associated travel and lodging expenses for competitors, coordinate actual activities necessary for the production of the contest, and ensure licensure and legal agreements are completed as needed, there is a Voice of Siora Official Committee [VoSOC]. The VoSOC reserves a variety of rights and responsibilities, including publishing, reviewing and updating the foundational contest tenets, coordinating the submission and publication of Studio Phase songs to the Voice of Siora official website, producing all materials bearing the trademarked Voice of Siora logo, and potentially resolving disputes between competing nations, such as mediating in tiebreaker situations. The VoSOC is a division of the Sioran Broadcasting Alliance.

The Contest

Choosing a Host Nation

The nation which hosts the current contest is the winner of the previous contest. In other words, the nation which submitted the contestant who wins Cycle 1 will be the host for Cycle 2.

As of the completion of the sixth cycle of the contest, there has been no prerequisite for appointing a host nation for the next competition that was not also the winner of that year's contest. However, the VoSOC designates that if a winning nation is for some reason unable to host the next cycle of the contest, the host will be chosen by random lot from all nations who submitted entries during that contest.

The first-ever host nation, Luah'u, was chosen to host the 1574 contest by means of highest bid. The bid was put forward by Hinano Lo'o Nohealani, owner of the nation's five largest resort and spa chains.

Choosing Contestants

It is most common for nations wishing to participate in an upcoming Voice of Siora competition to host their own national song and music competitions in order to determine which artist they will send. This is typically completed during odd years when no Voice of Siora contest is being held, although individual contests have run as late as Marth of the year of the competition. The VoSOC does not offer any advice or best practices on how nations should conduct their appointment of contestants, although many nations elect to host similarly structured televised voice and music talent series.

There are no rules which bar a contestant from returning to the competition after competing in a prior cycle so long as the contestant is able to create new, unique songs. Winner of the 1582 contest, Kent of Nyland, competed previously in the 1574 contest.

Although it is not explicitly stated that contestants must be citizens or otherwise permanent residents of the nation they are representing, there has been no prerequisite for a nation to submit a non-citizen as of the completion of the 1584 contest.

It is important to note that, during the Voice of Siora competition, the term "contestant" may be used colloquially to refer to both a nation and that nation's representing musical artist. However, the VoSOC defines "contestant" as an individual artist or group of artists representing a nation, where the nation itself is referred to as a "participating nation".

The Contest

Florinthus' Empire of the Sun, winner of the first ever VoS contest. Kakuahine, 1574.

While each host nation is allowed the authority to slightly vary the format of the contest from previous years, the basic tenets as set forth by the VoSOC have always remained the same: 1.) The contest is to take place every other year as a celebration of global diversity and culture; 2.) The contest is to be held in two primary phases, the Studio Phase and the Live Phase, each to be completed, respectively, by the Preliminary Vote and the Final Vote; 3.) Songs are to be performed in a language official in and/or widely spoken by the participating nation delegating that performer; and 4.) The host nation is to be the participating nation who sent the winning contestant of the previous cycle whenever possible.

The contest is divided into two main phases: the Studio Phase and the Live Phase. The phases are capped off by the Preliminary and Final Votes, respectively.

Ahead of the Studio Phase, all nations wishing to participate in that year's cycle are required to have selected their representative contestant, registered their musical artist or group with the VoSOC, recorded and created the final master of the song they will be entering for the Studio Phase, and submitted their final single to the VoSOC for publication. This is typically completed no later than mid Quartyr. Official VoSOC tenets require that songs performed for both phases be performed in a language that is either official in and/or widely spoken by the participating nation that the artist is representing. Additionally, if the artist is a returning contestant, the song they perform cannot be a song they already presented in a previous cycle, nor can any artist submit a song that has already been presented by any other artist in a previous cycle. However, there are no other official rules surrounding the songs submitted for the Studio Phase. Matters of song length, lyrics or lack thereof, genre and style are not regulated. As such, previous Studio Phase entries have varied greatly in all of these areas, although the most popular styles to be submitted remain popular rock and dance songs, generally between three and five minutes long with a repeating chorus.

At the start of the Studio Phase, the VoSOC will make available information about each participating nation and their representative contestant along with .MP4 format digital copies of the Studio Phase songs that can be streamed directly from the Voice of Siora website. Additionally, the Sioran Broadcasting Alliance radio stations will begin playing the entries on local station programming. As the Studio Phase is largely designed to garner a vote of popularity, dual broadcasting the songs in this manner allows the songs to reach broad swathes of the public. Songs may remain available for listen via the Voice of Siora Website and may continue to be broadcast over various radio stations even after the conclusion of the Studio Phase.

During the Preliminary Vote, polling is made available via the Voice of Siora official website to the general public of both participating and non-participating nations who are members of the Sioran Broadcasting Alliance. Persons residing in these nations may vote online for their single favorite song made available during the Studio Phase. Polls are typically open for 36 hours. Counts from the Preliminary Vote are tallied to conclude the Studio Phase. The five nations with the most points each receive a base score of 6 points before moving on to the next phase of the competition. All other nations enter the next phase with a base score of 0 points. The Preliminary Vote does not eliminate any nations from competition, although it may put some at an advantage.

Following the Preliminary Vote, artists who represented their nation in the Studio Phase have approximately half a year to prepare for the Live Phase, which is the final stage of the competition. During this interim, contestants are expected to create a new, distinctive song which they will perform live in an arena designated by the host nation. At this point, any nation who did not participate in the Studio Phase is not eligible to participate in the Live Phase. There are more rules governing the songs submitted for the Live Phase than there are for the Studio Phase. All rules from the Studio Phase apply to the Live Phase. In addition, Live Phase songs cannot be remixes, remasters, or covers of the Studio Phase song.

During the Live Phase, typically a two-day event, contestants perform their new songs before a live studio audience in the host nation. The audience is typically made up of a majority of residents of the host nation, along with a minority of attendees from nations being represented in the competition. It is not uncommon for previous years' contestants to be in attendance. Venues and stages may vary greatly, and the special effects and sound equipment available to contestants may differ year to year. Historically, however, the venues for the Live Phase have been located in large, modern cities and, as such, are typically equipped with contemporary facilities and equipment. The size of the venue will impact the size of the audience in attendance, although historically, venues tend to be large and hold numbers in the thousands.

The Live Phase is a televised event made available by streaming video via the Voice of Siora website, and by broadcast via Sioran Broadcasting Alliance television stations. Since its inception in 1574, viewership of the Live Phase of the Voice of Siora contest has grown steadily each year.

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Impacts

International Relations and Cultural Awareness

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Past Competitions

Contest Host Cities

Year	Country	City	Venue
1574	Luah'u	Kakuahine	Momi Visual Arena
1576	Florinthus	Tarleton	Prince Court
1578	Nyland	Nyköping	Globe Theatre
1580	Valland	Arseille	Stade Vélodrome
1582	Karjelinn	Uutalinn	Ahtojää Events Hall
1584	Nyland	Isort	South Sea Center for the Performing Arts
1586	Eskkya	TBD	TBD

Winning Nations

Year	Host Nation	Winner	Points	Margin	Winning Song	Winning Artist	Second Place	Third Place
1574	Luah'u	Florinthus	124	4	"DNA"	Empire of the Sun	Nyland	Karjelinn
1576	Florinthus	Nyland	137	9	"Some Die Young"	Laleh	Millerainia	Eskkya
1578	Nyland	Valland	100	5	"Papaoutai [Papa, Where Are You]"	Stromae	Eskkya	Oslanburg
1580	Valland	Karjelinn	103	2	"Pomppufiilis [Bouncy Feelings]"	Eggy	Millerainia	Harmajaa
1582	Karjelinn	Nyland	101	2	"999"	Kent	Kyrzbekistan	A'sir
1584	Nyland	Eskkya	98	1	"Tiled"	Roselyne Lavigne	Valland	Severyane
1586	Eskkya	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD