Fanime Con 2011 Karaoke Contest Rules

[Hank-KKD]

Fanime Con 2011 Karaoke Contest  Rules

The Fanime Con 2011 Karaoke Contest will take place on Friday, May 27. Up to 40 will vie for the right to be crowned the best singing act of Fanime Con! All finalists will receive prizes, and this year's winner will receive a beautiful microphone trophy and a special invitation to perform at the start of the Fanime Con Masquerade on Sunday evening.

Overview

Check-in and warmups for the contest will be Friday afternoon from 2PM to 5:30PM.

The Preliminary round will start at 6PM, and the top 10 will perform in the finals which are at 9:30PM. Contestants do not need to be present for the entire Preliminary round.

At con signups, check in, and the contest itself will be in the Karaoke room (Hall C in the San Jose Convention Center).


Eligibility

You must have a valid Fanime Con badge for Friday.

Fanime Con Karaoke staff, Guests of Honor, and Industry members with professional singing or voice acting experience are ineligible to compete in the contest.

You may compete as an individual or group. If you compete as a group, all singing members of the group must sing during both songs, either as lead or as backup vocals. You may not add or change singing group members between rounds.

Signing Up/Checking In

Online contest signups will start on Sunday, 5/1. Stay tuned to this forum for exact time/details.

Online sign-ups close on 5/15 or when we receive 40 valid entries. Any remaining spots will be reserved for at-con sign-ups.

Any at-con sign-ups in excess of 40 will be placed on a waiting list. Waiting list entrants must be present in the Karaoke room at 5:30 to find out if they are in the contest.

Contestants who pre-register for the convention must check in no later than 5:30PM. To check-in for the contest, you will need your Fanime Con badge and your contest music (either on a CD, or the song numbers from our song library). Check-in starts when the Karaoke room opens on Friday.

If you don't check in, then at 5:30 your spot will be cancelled and given to the entries on the waiting list.

Selecting Songs

Songs must be from the following categories: anime, vocaloid, video game, or J-rock/J-pop.

Songs limits: 2:30 (preliminary), 5:00 (finals). Songs longer than these limits will be faded out when the limit is reached.

You may not use the same song in both rounds of the contest.

English songs which were not originally created for an anime series or video game, or straight covers of such songs (for example, Fly Me To The Moon) are not allowed. Japanese adaptations of such a song are okay.

Original songs created for a localized version of an anime series or game are okay (For example, songs from Robotech or the North American Sailor Moon).

No a cappella singing. a cappella singers are invited to join our Acoustikaraoke! Contest on Sunday afternoon.

Acoustic-only instruments (those not using an amp) are allowed if played by the actual singer(s). Performers part of a larger group or who desire a more complex musical setup are invited to join our Acoustikaraoke! Contest on Sunday afternoon.

You should generally follow the song's original lyrics-this is not a "filk" contest.

If contestants bring their own music, they must provide their own music, preferably karaoke version, on an audio CD. No phones or mp3 players please. Unclaimed CDs will be disposed of at our discretion after the convention.

Contestants may also choose songs from our open mic library. Just tell us the song ID number at signup/check-in. We are not responsible if the song sounds different from your expectations, or does not have lyrics. If you are unsure, you should try it out during the warmup period before the contest.

All contestants who do not use karaoke versions of their songs will perform with vocal dampening turned on. We want to hear you, not the original singer.
Note: Vocal dampening has been known to have unexpected effects with some songs, so if you plan to use vocal dampening, we strongly suggest that you test out your song at home before you sign up.

No song changes are allowed once the contest starts.

Scoring and Judging
Each contestant will be scored by each judge in the following categories:

•   Vocal: musical quality of performance, breath control, pitch and tone (60%)
•   Visual Performance: stage presence; overall entertainment value; style and poise (30%)
•   Song selection/difficulty (10%)

The top 10 scores advance to the Finals.

In the Finals, the winners will be determined by the sum of their preliminary round score and their final round score.

In case of a tie in the preliminary round, the tied acts will advance to the final round. In the event of a tie in the finals, the final round score is the tiebreaker. If the final round scores are the same between the tied contestants, then a vote of the judges will determine final placement.

All decisions made by the judges are final.

Conduct
As a convention for anime fans of all ages, Fanime Con has certain standards of behavior which all convention attendees should abide by at all times. Karaoke is no exception.

All aspects of the act, including, but not limited to: costume, conduct on stage, and song lyrics, are to abide by no worse than a PG-13 standard. If you are in doubt as to whether something is suitable, just ask yourself: Would you do this in front of your mother?  If you're still in doubt, please email or post and tell us what you have in mind, and we'll make a decision.

If any violations of this policy occur, Fanime Con Karaoke staff reserves the right to disqualify offenders from the contest and/or terminate the act in mid-song. In extreme cases, offenders may also be subject to convention penalties including loss of badge and removal from the convention.

During the contest, no physical interaction with the judges or the MC is allowed. Contestants may not leave the stage.

Contestants may not use an audience member in their act. Actions that encourage general audience participation as a whole (such as asking the crowd to sing along) are okay.

The only persons allowed in the performing stage are Fanime Con staff and contestants.

[RiderG]

this may be a dumb question, but how do we sign up? :)

[Kzuna]

I have a few questions about bringing our own music.

For songs that have long instrumental intros, can that part be cut out so there is more time for vocal parts?
And also, are pitch changes allowed? (eg. female to male pitch or vice versa)

[RiderG]

For songs that have long instrumental intros, can that part be cut out so there is more time for vocal parts?
And also, are pitch changes allowed? (eg. female to male pitch or vice versa)

since we only get 2 1/2 minutes for the audition i plan on cutting my track too.

[Hank-KKD]

this may be a dumb question, but how do we sign up?

The link to sign up will be posted here in the forums. The current date for signups to begin is 5/1.

I have a few questions about bringing our own music.

For songs that have long instrumental intros, can that part be cut out so there is more time for vocal parts?
And also, are pitch changes allowed? (eg. female to male pitch or vice versa)

Yes, or you can just ask us to start the song when the vocal portion starts.

Yes, you are free to sing the song at your natural pitch.

[RiderG]

thanku :3

[Kzuna]

Yes, or you can just ask us to start the song when the vocal portion starts.

Yes, you are free to sing the song at your natural pitch.

thank you~

but just to be absolutely sure so that i don't break the rules, does this mean that we can change the pitch of the track or just that we can sing at our natural pitch but with the original track untouched. Sorry i wasnt being clear when i asked.

[KusanagiShiro]

5:00 overall? Damn that rules out Liberi Fatali or Aria di Mezzo Carattere for the contest. Though, I think the latter is better suited for a masquerade skit. X3

[Hank-KKD]

Yes, or you can just ask us to start the song when the vocal portion starts.

Yes, you are free to sing the song at your natural pitch.

thank you~

but just to be absolutely sure so that i don't break the rules, does this mean that we can change the pitch of the track or just that we can sing at our natural pitch but with the original track untouched. Sorry i wasnt being clear when i asked.

You should pick a song that matches your natural pitch. The judges might not take kindly to shifting the pitch of the song.

[RiderG]

but just to be absolutely sure so that i don't break the rules, does this mean that we can change the pitch of the track or just that we can sing at our natural pitch but with the original track untouched. Sorry i wasnt being clear when i asked.

don't sing in a key that's off compared to your track. it'll be really obvious and make you sound tone deaf. make sure the track matches your pitch.

[CharminglyInsane]

Yes, or you can just ask us to start the song when the vocal portion starts.

Yes, you are free to sing the song at your natural pitch.

thank you~

but just to be absolutely sure so that i don't break the rules, does this mean that we can change the pitch of the track or just that we can sing at our natural pitch but with the original track untouched. Sorry i wasnt being clear when i asked.

You should pick a song that matches your natural pitch. The judges might not take kindly to shifting the pitch of the song.

I'm confused about this answer...
When you say the judges might not take kindly, what does that mean? If the song's pitch is changed, will the person be disqualified, or will it affect the performance's scoring?

I just know for me personally, even if I can sing the song, setting the pitch higher or lower can sometimes suit and show off my tone and range a whole lot better. Plus, It's more fun to pick a song you love and change the pitch, rather then just picking a song simply because it matches your natural pitch.
But if it's not allowed, that's totally understandable too!

[KusanagiShiro]

I see. Well, I'm gonna enter right away this weekend; 5/12/ - 5/15 sees me out of town for my cousin's wedding at Lake Arrowhead in SoCal, so I have to enter this week, before I leave. X.x god its hard to load up my iPod for a trip like that. @.@

[SleetArashi]

I noticed there are some tokusatsu songs listed on the selection of songs available to request from the link posted. Does anyone mind if such songs are chosen for the contest?

[Stryyder]

Another potentially dumb question:

Are English versions of anime themes all good?  Specific example, Taiyō ga Mata Kagayaku Toki, ending 4 of Yu Yu Hakusho as sung by Jerry Jewell as opposed to the original by Takahashi Hiro?

Side Question: if the English IS permitted, what about partial?  Like Verse 1 English, verse 2 Japanese, etc.?

[Hank-KKD]

Another potentially dumb question:

Are English versions of anime themes all good?  Specific example, Taiyō ga Mata Kagayaku Toki, ending 4 of Yu Yu Hakusho as sung by Jerry Jewell as opposed to the original by Takahashi Hiro?

Side Question: if the English IS permitted, what about partial?  Like Verse 1 English, verse 2 Japanese, etc.?

Yes both examples are okay.

I noticed there are some tokusatsu songs listed on the selection of songs available to request from the link posted. Does anyone mind if such songs are chosen for the contest?

We'll allow it for this year, but remember we are primarily an anime karaoke contest. We have many songs in our library that do not fit in the categories for the contest. This is because this song library is also what we use for open mic.

When you say the judges might not take kindly, what does that mean? If the song's pitch is changed, will the person be disqualified, or will it affect the performance's scoring?

The original question dealt with editing the music. My answer was addressing if someone were to take the musical track and alter the pitch so it fits their natural vocal range. Not an automatic DQ, but I could see points being taken off for it if the judges know the natural pitch of the song.

[KingKamor]

Just wondering if "One More Time, One More Chance" from 5 Cm. Per Second would be available in Karaoke form at the con, since I didn't see it on the site provided in your signature.

[SuperSheba]

Can we bring a copy of the song where we removed the vocals ourselves?  I use a filter that is accessible for free over the internet, so anyone could use it.  I like the way it came out.  There is a karaoke of the original song, but there are no harmonies unless you use vocal remove from the original, and since I can't sing harmony and melody at the same time (which would be awesome if I could :b), I like the version I have.  The vocals from the main track remove very cleanly.

[CharminglyInsane]

The original question dealt with editing the music. My answer was addressing if someone were to take the musical track and alter the pitch so it fits their natural vocal range. Not an automatic DQ, but I could see points being taken off for it if the judges know the natural pitch of the song.

OK, good to know!! Thank you very much for clearing that up!! :D

[SuperSheba]

My other question is whether it is ok to add audio to a karaoke track.  For example, I'm thinking of singing a song by a group, and there's a part in the melody where another singer sings it and it is impossible for one singer to do both parts, but when the center track is removed, the other part is too.  Is it allowed for us to record that part before hand?

[chibimonster]

Is it frowned upon to do two songs by the same artist. For example, could someone sing a Hatsune Miku song in the preliminary round, and then a different Hatsune Miku song in the finals? Or do the judges prefer a lot of variety?