1,916
4,476
I like cheese
|
Post by Gregory (inactive) on Dec 22, 2021 9:20:08 GMT 1
United States of Song 2022 Update Thread Welcome back! It’s only been a couple months since the final results were released, but it's already time to get prepared for the upcoming contest. Our 7th edition will take place in Portland, Oregon. We have not created any designs or set a theme, but I have a couple in mind. The contest is reaching its maturity, I think, unless there's ideas on how to directly improve the quality and efficiency of the contest. We officially have "help" in that if the American Song Contest proves popular enough, I could start posting about this as a fan contest in other places. Fingers crossed! That could bring in new people, and this could be a big year for us, or much of the same... or a mess. So, yeah: 4-minute limit for songs, the same song acceptance guidelines, and you will be able to confirm as one state to send a song for. You will still be able to vote for your own state if you wish. The state you choose doesn't have to be the same state you chose last year, but it cannot be TX, CA, NY or the host state OR.
The only two "changes" I'm considering this year are: * if you want to run your own state song selection, I think it should be fine. If you want the song selection committee to help you with suggestions, let them know. We have to make sure all the songs you want to use fit your guidelines--and you need at least two songs to choose from, of course. You should run and close the voting for your selection in February. * In past editions I've been strict about no swearing in the song, to keep the contest PC. But several songs have secretly snuck past and into the contest without me knowing, so it's kind of a flimsy rule. Thus, if you can get me a 25-second timeslot for the recaps without swearing in it, then I don't care if there is swearing in other parts of the song.
OH, and one definite new rule: you can't ever submit American Song Contest songs into USoS. Duh.
------------------ Thanks for your time! The song submissions form and state confirmations will open the first week of January. Cheers
|
|
1,916
4,476
I like cheese
|
Post by Gregory (inactive) on Feb 15, 2022 8:43:49 GMT 1
UPDATE - February 15th, 2022Hey everyone. First off - the confirmation period for reserving states or territories is officially closed. However I have decided to extend the deadline for submitting entries by one week, per a couple people's requests. It's fine anyway, because I have been struggling to finish the theme work until now. Anyway, I wanted to have it documented how the process works for confirming songs for the seven of you who are entering the contest as representatives of a state: - After 20th February, I will send you a private message on the forum (or Discord) with all the entries we received for your state. This includes any that you sent to us. - You can choose one of these entries, or choose your own original entry to send (meaning you don't have to go with something that was submitted before the 20th for your own state.) - Once you choose your entry, send it back in a private message on the forum (or Discord) - You must receive 2 out of 3 yes responses from Committee ( Derek , Chante™ and I ( Gregory (inactive) )) - Once you receive the yeses, you can post your entry to the Song Submissions & Confirmations thread. - You must post your entry no later than March 31st. Semifinals should begin in April. If the timeline sounds very long to you, that's because it is. This is an annual contest only, and I take things at a leisurely pace (in other words, I work full-time). But the reward is worth the wait, as always. I also posted about USoS in a Discord server for American Song Contest fans (because duh). A couple people showed interest and joined the contest or shared some song ideas, which was cool. I'm hoping to continue advertising and growing the contest there as a fantasy contest, since apparently the original fantasy contest they designed on the Reddit page for ASC faded out. Something to do with the page managers being eurocentric with the one guy who wanted to run the contest? Idk, it's not my drama lol. Anyway, if you have other questions, give us a message too. --------
|
|
1,916
4,476
I like cheese
|
Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 18, 2022 8:35:37 GMT 1
Starting with this post, we'll begin sharing 5 songs per post a few times a week that have been selected for United States of Song 2022!These songs were either submitted by members of the forum, the greater USoS community, or Committee members. Thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute. The state entries will be announced in random order; the running order itself will be announced either at the end of this month or early April. Each song comes with a paragraph or so about the artist, their song, and their style of music. Please let me know if any of the videos below are blocked. Idaho Alexander Pappas - "K.O." Artist suggested by Pablo Originally a writer of Christian music, Pappas decided to expand his career and move out of Idaho to Sydney, Australia. There he has signed with Capitol Group and is starting to make waves - sugary-sweet ones, with a hope for growth after being 'knocked down seven times last year'. Boy, can we all relate to that. Will this *finally* be the year that Idaho makes it out of the semifinals? Arizona The Maine - "Sticky" Submitted by Derek Originally from the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, this band has been around since 2007 and were initially looking to be a successful alt-rock group - their debut single hit #119 on the Billboard charts. But they faded into obscurity instead - until super-recently, off the success of this single, which comes from their eighth studio album. Ya see? It's never too late to boost up your career. Now, your only goal for the rest of this edition will be to remember this band is not actually from Maine! Rhode Island
Lainey Dionne - "I Love You To Death" Submitted by Gregory (inactive) From the state's capital of Providence, Dionne describes herself as if "Billie Eilish, Halsey, k.flay, and Lorde had a lovechild together". Take that as you will, some of those make more sense than others lol. This indie pop songwriter is very new to the scene, but has already earned a spot as a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition 2022, where less than 1% of songs reach finalist status. So, she's to be taken seriously! Virginia Reeve Stimpson - "Wannabe" Submitted by ~mimeosomeJo (via Reddit) Thank you to our first ASC crossover fan for committing to and submitting a song for this year's contest! Stimpson is as true as blue when it comes to his style, his music, and his country background. He comes from a small town in the western part of the state (Powhatan), and you bet your butt he's already working for that career in Nashville. I get real 2000's era country-rock crossover vibes from this - what about you? American Samoa 1KTUI ft. Jay Shootah - "Teine" And I've saved the first surprise for last today - American Samoa will be able to debut in USoS this year! As you can imagine, the selection is limited (and I'm not gonna cop out and choose the ASC artist...) so here's a fun little song from 1KTui (pronounced 'one-kay-tui', aka Kehanu Tuiasosopo) with help from fellow Samoan Jay Shootah. "Teine" means 'Lady' in Samoan and the song is bilingual with English. Enjoy!
That's all we got for today! Stay tuned to this thread for future song choices for the other states! And don't forget to vote for the currently ongoing state selections! There's so many good songs that need your vote!*waves frantically* Go on! Do it!
|
|
Amanda
4 points
She/Her
1,400
2,030
We are Veronika
|
Post by Amanda on Mar 18, 2022 19:51:48 GMT 1
lmao apparently Alisabeth Von Presley from a few years ago is sending her song "Wonder" for Iowa in the American Song Contest, which is the same exact song you sent on this contest, I wonder if she did that on purpose
|
|
1,916
4,476
I like cheese
|
Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 19, 2022 22:54:31 GMT 1
lmao apparently Alisabeth Von Presley from a few years ago is sending her song "Wonder" for Iowa in the American Song Contest, which is the same exact song you sent on this contest, I wonder if she did that on purpose I found her song off of Reverbnation, and at one point in time she definitely knew about us (tweet below) I would love to interview her and figure out if this had any impact at all, this may be my fault
|
|
1,916
4,476
I like cheese
|
Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 20, 2022 22:04:23 GMT 1
We are sharing 5 songs per post a few times a week that have been selected for United States of Song 2022!The person/people who submitted the artist or song will be listed with each entry. The state entries are being announced in random order; the running order itself will be announced either at the end of this month or early April. Each song comes with a paragraph or so about the artist, their song, and their style of music. Please let me know if any of the videos below are blocked. Louisiana Jon Batiste - "Freedom" Song submitted by Gregory (inactive) I debated whether it was fair to send this guy, because he's up for Grammys in April and is the lead musician on Stephen Colbert's late-night show - so it's not like he's this newly-found dude. But the type of music he's making, the high level of production, the inspiring message, the fact that Louisiana has a poor history in this contest, and all this stacked with no mainstream attention... I had to give it a shot. Not to mention, this sounds authentically Louisianan to me. So, yeah: you'll get a bit of jazz, funk, soul, and gospel with this one. Pharrell's "Happy" is the closest I can think of to this. Puerto Rico Raquel Sofía - "La Puerta" Submitted by Pablo With their first qualification last year, Puerto Rico is slated to be an excellent source of Latino music in the USA, and USoS by expansion. Raquel Sofía, a native of Mayaguez, treats us to "La Puerta" (tr: The Door), with her lyrics basically saying she "opened the door for you, and I can close it again". The song talks about inter-relationship struggles, the guy taking emotional advantage of her; she says "I want to clarify that you're more good than bad" but "he needs to take a long look in the mirror." Vermont
Andrianna Chobot - "Cascade" Submitted by Gregory (inactive) The Green Mountain State started out its history in USoS as a venue for unexpected song choices, though it was hard to continue finding stuff like that over time. Vermont is the second-least populated state in the country, and so finding something new or interesting requires diving deeper. For singer-songwriter Andrianna Chobot, you'll find a lot of photos online of her with a keyboard or piano; her talents start at the piano, and it features prominently on this ballad. She's a member of a folk-jazz trio that is touring now, and has written music for the Vermont Public TV station. Utah The Aces - "Don't Freak" Submitted by Derek There are a few singers and groups that are recommended annually, and finally, we let The Aces compete. They are an all-girl rock-pop group from Provo who were inspired to make music professionally after watching Lorde win her first Grammy. Over the last ten years, they've recorded four studio albums, gone on tour with 5 Seconds of Summer and COIN ( 2017), recorded Spanish-language versions of their biggest hits, and are currently reveling in being back on tour to promote their latest music after two years of lockdown. Kansas Brittan Smith - "Peach" Song submitted by uhsting With Kansas native Grace Vanderwaal competing in the New York state selection, finding an option for Kansas has been hard in the past. But not this year! Between two options, we've opted for Brittan Smith, who lives in Los Angeles now but spent their life growing up in the Sunflower State. This type of electro-inspired art pop from the literal center of the USA might surprise you! At the time this was submitted, they didn't have any music videos uploaded. The aesthetic is dark, futuristic, and *very* visual.
That's all we got for today! Stay tuned to this thread for future song choices for the other states! And don't forget to vote for the currently ongoing state selections! There's so many good songs that need your votes!
|
|
uhsting
NBU Council
He/they
1,345
1,972
Uhsting's Top 50: http://crownnote.com/users/uhsting
|
Post by uhsting on Mar 20, 2022 22:40:49 GMT 1
Huh interesting... I remember Peach has an MV Maybe it got deleted??
|
|
1,916
4,476
I like cheese
|
Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 22, 2022 8:22:00 GMT 1
Huh interesting... I remember Peach has an MV Maybe it got deleted?? If you find it let me know
|
|
1,916
4,476
I like cheese
|
Post by Gregory (inactive) on Mar 26, 2022 8:09:20 GMT 1
We are sharing 5 songs per post a few times a week that have been selected for United States of Song 2022!The person/people who submitted the artist or song will be listed with each entry. The state entries are being announced in random order; the running order itself will be announced either at the end of this month or early April. Each song comes with a paragraph or so about the artist, their song, and their style of music. Please let me know if any of the videos below are blocked. Washington Abney Park - "Many Worlds" Song submitted by Pablo We kick this batch off with a very unexpected song and sound for USoS. Abney Park's music career spans almost 25 years! The Seattle-based band started out as a goth group, but became 'steampunk' in 2005 and have latched on to that aesthetic ever since. Though, if I had to categorize this song musically... all I can think of is World music. My friend Pablo introduced me to one of their songs a few years ago, "Building Steam", and it was unlike anything I'd heard before. With that in mind, I think they are a good fit for Washington and the contest - Seattle always has its own vibe going on. (Actually this sounds like it would fit into NNMC pretty well ) Hawaii Tavana - "Sway" Submitted by Derek It was between two songs for this Pacific island state -- and the other song was great but there's something wholesome about Tavana and his musicality. He considers himself a multi-instrumentalist "who uses his feet to lay down a variety of grooves while simultaneously playing guitar, banjo, lap steel, or ukulele and singing soulful, island-inspired rock and blues." What I hear is soft beachy vibes wrapped in folksy Hawaiian sounds. What do you hear? New Hampshire
Dakota Smart - "Lovely Lady" Submitted by Gregory (inactive) Sometimes we don't receive any submissions for a state, and that's fine - but then I have to dig very, *very* deep to find something. Those tiny northeastern states, curse them! Everyone just moves to Boston if they want to make music, lol. Anyway, Dakota is a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Afton who's been writing since he was 10 years old. He describes this song as "a uniquely refreshing, happy song that you’ll want to dance to the moment you hear the salsa feel of the trumpet!" Salsa music... from New Hampshire? After reggae and hard rock... it's quite on brand, historically. New Mexico Chevel Shepherd - "Good Boy" Submitted by ukraineofcourse We go from a lovely lady to a good boy - this was actually the only song submitted for this state, so... congrats? People familiar with singing competitions will know who Chevel is - and at one point, she may have been considered too popular or successful for this contest. But the rules have changed: she has yet to score a Top 10 country single, or any Top 40 hits. From the tiny city of Farmington, Shepherd's country roots run deep. After winning The Voice, she went on tour opening for Maroon 5, then wrote her debut album which includes this song. Ohio Jetty Bones - "Nothing" Song submitted by Derek We are really overdue for a bop, and Jetty Bones delivered last year! If you like synth and 1980's aesthetics, then this song is for you. Growing up in the town of Urbana, Bones decided to make music her career after performing a song about a friend who had committed suicide, and later receiving a note from a fan saying the song convinced them not to take their own life. Although the music sounds bright, the topics of her singles can be quite dark, actually - but that's only if you read deeply into the lyrics. Her Wikipedia page goes into way more depth, if you're interested in learning more.
That's all we got for today! Stay tuned to this thread for future song choices for the other states! And don't forget to vote for the currently ongoing state selections! There's not much time left....
|
|
958
818
BEing Hot like fire
|
Post by ukraineofcourse on Mar 26, 2022 8:35:08 GMT 1
Florida Entry Lilith Czar - King it was a suggestion but there was no name attatched
|
|