So now that the first FE contest is over (the bachelorette) it's time to start paving the way for the next one. I hope I can get this one to be more organized, running smoothly, and finish on schedule. What is this contest going to be? Well, I'll give credit to voxpopulusuxx for his karaoke thread that gave me the idea of doing a singing contest. I don't want this to replace the karaoke thread at all - in fact, I'd want the contest entries put into that thread once the contest is over to help boost it, but to work out, this has to be separate. Vox (not VoxPopulus!) has graciously offered to provide a sub-forum specifically for this contest and also give it some advertising. So I'll lay out my ideas here. They are subject to change and I'm willing to take suggestions (I already have taken a few) to make the whole thing better.
First, I don't want to run into the upcoming penitential season (Lent for all you people not paying attention!) putting a hold on this contest as Advent and Christmas did to the other one. Even if I could get people to join up, Holy Week/Easter is a busy time and people may not be free to compete. I also know that some people take time away from the forum during Lent. Because of this, I'd want to start off the contest just after Easter. I'm posting this now so far in advance to hopefully get more ideas, to gather interest, grab singers, and get everything prepared for the launch day.
Time/Deadlines:Starting Date: Tuesday, April 17th
Number of Rounds: 10
Time per Round: 5 days
Note: Rounds can be pre-recorded so contestants will have MUCH more than five actual days to record.Scoring:1) The entire FE site will have five days per round to vote on their favorite. There will be three votes per person.
2)Contestants' scores per round will be the total number of votes +/- any bonuses or penalties.
3)Final score is the total tally of votes for all ten rounds. The person with the most total points wins and receives the prize (TBA).
4)To encourage contestants to participate in every round, five bonus points are awarded for just posting a song.
5)Using electronics to alter one's voice (pitch, speed, etc) results in a 10 point penalty.
6)Failing to show up for the duet round (and thus hurting your partner) results in a 10 point penalty.
Miscellaneous Rules:1) Songs with dirty lyrics/cussing are not permitted.
2) Contestants won't be disqualified for missing rounds. They just won't receive points for that particular round.
3) It's permissible for contestants to change the pitch of the MUSIC to which they are singing, but may
NOT alter their own voice using sound equipment.
4) Contestants may choose to do a video karaoke or
just a sound file.5) Unless specifically mentioned, rounds do not have a time limit.
The Rounds:1) Song of Choice.
2) Country/Bluegrass
3) Oldies. Like a crooner, 30' - 50's, etc.
4) Hymn/Religious. A Capella.
5) R&B/Rockabilly/Old Rock/Soft Rock.
6) Song of Choice
7) Modern. 80's - current. Also excludes music from any previous genres listed, so no modern country.
8.) Pick a song for someone else to sing.
Maximum of three (3) minutes duration. Must be in English! The track should be available on YouTube and have the words timed to the music. Send your choice to TMW and myself (The Curt Jester) when asked to.
9) Duet. Each contestant gets a random partner to sing with. Plenty of fore-warning will be given for this. Melding recordings together can be done with a program like Audacity. If your partner doesn't show up for that round, he/she will be docked points.
10)Voters' Choice. The voters (FE populace) will vote on songs they want sung by the contestants. A link to the karaoke track must be provided.
Maximum of three and a half (3:30) minutes duration. Must be in English! How Everything Works:Every five days a new round will be announced. Contestants have five days to submit (via PM) their songs to me and TMW. After the five days have passed, we will post a poll and let it run for five days. During this time, the public will be able to vote and the contestants will be working on round two. This process is repeated until all ten rounds are done.
About Duets: Duets can be done in a number of ways. Basically, you and your duet partner just have to sing something together. It doesn't have to be a duet in the strictest sense of the word. You could choose to do melody/harmony, polyphony, alternate sections of non-duet songs, do a true duet, or anything else you can think of that involves both people doing a part in the karaoke.
Audacity is a nice program that is free that allows you to mix recordings, which will be necessary (unless Deusdark and OCLittleflower get put together!) to put you and your partner's voices together. It would be (in my opinion) the best method to make the duet video/sound file, but I'm sure there are other ways, too, such as using a voice chat to sing together or something like that.
