Hello new nations :o We're opening the contest up to new countries!! So, to create a country, you have to give us the following, minimum:

 

Country name:

Capital City:

 

And that's it! Some other additions you can give are flags, population, official languages, and so on and so forth, but they're mainly cosmetic - the above two are the only two bits of information we really need.

 

Rules

 

Countries:

 

* Before every edition a thread will be made asking people for confirmation of their entry. All countries must confirm their participation each time. Confirmation will be made via PM to the host of the contest.

 

* You may only have one country in the BJSC. Discovery of alias countries will lead to you being permanently banned from the BJSC, as well as a short ban on Buzzjack itself for using an alias.

 

Artists & Songs:

 

* Artists being used by another country may not be used in the same contest.

 

* Artists used by you in the prior contest may not be used for the following contest. This only applies to your entry - the artist may be used in the following contest if they were used by another country in the prior contest.

 

* Artists who came top 3 in the prior contest may not be used for the following contest.

 

* Songs may not have taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest, but people are free to send songs which have taken part in national finals for the ESC but did not get selected as ESC entries.

 

* Songs may be covers [but may not be covers of ESC songs, or covers of songs that have been used already in the contest] Covers of Spin-off entries are allowable.

 

* Songs can be in any language.

 

* Countries may use a "national final" or an "internal selection" to choose their entries.

 

* Songs can have been released at any time.

 

* Songs may not have been used in previous contests, however they may have been used in previous National Finals, but only if unsuccessful.

 

* NB: Although you can enter any song you like (provided it hasn't already been entered for Eurovision before) it's far far better if you don't choose something that everyone will already know. Part of the fun of this contest is discovering new music! :D

 

* All entries are subject to moderator approval. We aren't daft and we will only reject tracks that we feel the majority of entrants would hear without BJSC e.g. The new Lady GaGa track.

 

Hosting:

 

* The right to host goes automatically to the winner of the previous edition. If for any reason the previous winner cannot, or does not want to, host, then the right falls to the second placed, then the third, the fourth, and so on. The host is expected to take care of the song presentation and the presentation of the results, as well as collecting the songs and votes in the first place.

 

Voting:

 

* The nations must PM their points to the organizing country. These points are: 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point.

 

* If a country does not submit its votes on time, it will have a deduction from its score. Deductions are up to the discretion of the host, but are typically 33%.

 

* Eliminated semi finalists must vote in the final if they expect to participate next time, and prequalified finalists must vote in the semi final, otherwise they will be removed from the final.

 

* Revealing your votes before they are officially announced is not allowed.

 

* Making 'deals' with other countries (example - swapping votes) is not allowed.

 

Punishment:

 

* Infringing any of these rules will lead to disqualification from the current and following contest as well as a retraction of any votes given by the offending nation if any.

 

So, how does the BJSC work? (Feel free to skip this section if you already know)

 

Following the completion of a contest, the previous winner will announce if they intend to host the next round of the Buzzjack Song Contest and will give rough dates for the contest. Typically there is a week for confirmation and a two week period for the semis and final [Depending on entry numbers]

 

First official thread the host will open is the confirmation thread. This is where you confirm your entry for the BJSC. Confirmation will be made via PM to the host, and must not be revealed anywhere before the host begins the final. This is to ensure the songs have a level playing field and to allow for the Moderators to approve the entry list. Depending on the host, after confirmation you may sometimes be allowed to change your entry one or two times afterwards if you change your mind, recently host's have allowed changes but changes haven't been allowed for about half of the contests. You may hold a national final or post a song in your national thread to gauge people's reaction to your entry. You may not however say which track you have confirmed.

 

So, what makes a good entry? Typically, something that you think most people would be unlikely to hear without the contest. All sorts of genres have done well in the contest at some point or another, but traditionally female electropop/scandipop tends to prevail within the contest (The contest tends to go through cycles where one genre in particular is dominant in the past year the country has had a very Indie/Alternative phase which has been succeeded by Scandipop dominating and there is the beginnings of another genre shift) - but you can send whatever you want! Remember, though, that ultimately this is a contest for new music - it doesn't really prove much if you enter a track by a popular artist that will be a hit within the next few weeks and finish top five with it, whereas it's more satisfying (both for observers and probably for you!) to finish top ten with a gem of a track you've gone out of your way to discover, or something that might be seen as quite risky and left-field which you think could appeal to Buzzjack. Examples of this? For the former, just look at the entry record of nations such as FSR Rontvia - for the latter, entries such as Olafur Arnalds - Ljósið, a completely instrumental track which went top ten in XXII.

 

Still with me? Now we're onto the fun bit - the contest itself! Typically the above step will last one week. Whilst there are proposals underway, the current standard format of the contest is as follows - two semi-finals will be drawn, and you will have a week to submit your votes for your semi-final (which run Eurovision style in which you vote for your ten favourites - awarding 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points). Then, after a week of voting (a deadline will be given by the host on opening the semi-final), the host will announce the results of the semi-final. If you made it through to the final, well done! If not, commiserations, but you still have to vote in the final otherwise you may be disqualified from the next contest. The final runs in much the same way - you'll have a week to submit your votes, and then the results will be announced by the host Eurovision-style. And then the whole process starts again with new entries!

 

The above parts are the only compulsory elements, but there are lots of fun little accompaniments to the contest during contest weeks - for example, contestants may offer odds on the chances of victory for all the nations, prediction games may be set up, and lots of speculation will go on in the Green Room thread discussing who will qualify, who will flop, who will do well, and ultimately who will win - but these, of course, all remain optional. Just remember though, it is a fun contest for the purpose of discovering new music - don't get too offended if someone predicts you to do badly in some of these things, it is just their opinion. And also, bear in mind that, whilst the prediction/odds threads do get it right a lot of the time, they've had just as many times when they've been hugely off the mark!

 

So, that's basically all the elements of the BJSC boiled down. Still sound complicated? It doesn't have to be - all you really have to do is confirm a track, and vote in the semi-finals and the finals! So, interested? Go right ahead and sign up to join.

GOGOGO

Excellent to see this open. Ghosty and Bigazarafan should join up for sure, and Fervorosia seem to be on the verge of making a return :D

Excellent to see this open. Ghosty and Bigazarafan should join up for sure, and Fervorosia seem to be on the verge of making a return :D

Fervorosia have already registered, so they don't need to use the thread :o

I know, I was just thinking out loud - I'm guessing Utopia will leave though (:() and a few other nations said they'd withdraw if the 'one big final' thing goes ahead...

Utopia are leaving?! :o

They've said that they might, due to a decreasing interest in the contest...

Well here I am :w00t:

 

Country name: Bignia-Zaragovina

Capital City: Twifanvo

 

Hope this is allowed, I know a couple of other countries that sound very similar to the real country.

 

Oh, and thank you Rich for alerting me that this thread was open, I was viewing your profile and I saw that you were viewing this thread :P

Well here I am :w00t:

 

Country name: Bignia-Zaragovina

Capital City: Twifanvo

 

Hope this is allowed, I know a couple of other countries that sound very similar to the real country.

 

Oh, and thank you Rich for alerting me that this thread was open, I was viewing your profile and I saw that you were viewing this thread :P

 

That's ok, I was going to send you a PM but realised you'd find it soon enough anyway seeing as I know how eager you've been to join :P

Well here I am :w00t:

 

Country name: Bignia-Zaragovina

Capital City: Twifanvo

 

Hope this is allowed, I know a couple of other countries that sound very similar to the real country.

 

Oh, and thank you Rich for alerting me that this thread was open, I was viewing your profile and I saw that you were viewing this thread :P

Of course it's allowed ^_^ Feel free to open a national thread.

Woo! I have more info and stuff prepared on another computer, like the flag, map and language info but for now:

 

Country name: Caerfyrddia

Capital City: Brianne

 

:D

Interesting country names :P Do they mean anything? And how do you pronounce them? :)

Edited April 11, 201015 yr by Freeze

Welcome Ghosty and BigZaraFan :wub:

Btw Tyron. This is a really good information/introduction post! I had to read it myself, and it was all a bit flawless! :) Great work! :cheer:

Edited April 11, 201015 yr by Freeze

Interesting country names :P Do they mean anything? And how do you pronounce them? :)

 

Caerfyrddia stems from the area I live in. It's pronounced Kai-ver-vee-er :D

Edited April 11, 201015 yr by Ghosty233

Interesting country names :P Do they mean anything? And how do you pronounce them? :)

 

Big-knee-a Zar-a-gov-e-na

 

T-why-fan-vo

 

My country name is basically stealing from Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it incorporates the first two words in my user-name (my user-name is as it is because one of my best friends when I was younger was called "Zara")

 

The capital has Twi (because I'm a big Twilight fan), fan (the last word of my user-name), and vo (as in sarajeVO - the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina)

 

 

Welcome Ghosty and BigZaraFan :wub:

 

Thanks ^_^

 

Country: Urvůnia

Capital: Kroḝmer

 

I have been waiting to register. Finally! :D

Country name: Alteria

Capital City: Muso

Country: Urvůnia

Capital: Kroḝmer

 

I have been waiting to register. Finally! :D

Now i wonder how ů is pronounced please :kink:

I didn't even have to look at where Ghosty lives, I just knew from the country name that he must've been Welsh. :lol: I love Welsh people - Nessa, Bryn & Stacey :wub: