Karaoke Contest 2006 Rules

[Hank-KKD]

Moderator: Please sticky this post until the convention.

Here are the rules for this year's main Karaoke Contest.  

Contest registration has begun. The link to sign up is at the bottom of this post.

The contest will be held Friday night. The Preliminary (qualifying) round will be from 5pm-7:00pm, and those who qualify will sing in the finals which are at 9PM. A list of those making it to the finals will be posted by 7:30PM. Contestants do not need to be present during the entire Preliminary round.


Eligibility
You must have a valid Fanime Con badge for the day the contest is held.

Fanime Con Karaoke Staff, Guests of Honor, and Industry members are ineligible to compete in the contest.

If you compete as a group, all members of the group must perform in both rounds to be eligible for a prize. You may not add or change group members between rounds. All members of the group must sing during both songs, either as lead or as backup.


Signing Up

Contest pre-registration will start on approximately May 1. Stay tuned to the Fanime Con Live Programming forum and this web page for more information on online pre-registration for the Karaoke Contest.

To keep the length of the contest reasonable, the number of acts is limited to 30. Signups are first come, first served.

We will accept up to 24 spots before the convention. The remaining six spots will be reserved for at-con signups. Online signups close once we�ve received 24 valid entries and any at-con signups after 30 will be placed on a waiting list. Note that every year, we get some cancellations and no-shows, so even if you are on the waiting list, your chances of being in the contest are good.

Contestants who pre-register for the convention must check in no later than 15 minutes before the start of the qualifying round. Failure to check-in could result in loss of your spot in the contest. Once the contest starts, the MC will only call the names of those who have checked in. To check-in for the contest, bring your Fanime Con badge and your contest music (see below for more detail).

At-con signups for the contest will be taken in the Karaoke room (tentatively, Hall C in the San Jose Convention Center), starting when the Karaoke room opens on Friday afternoon. To sign up, please bring your Fanime Con badge and your contest music.

Selecting Your Songs

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

English songs which were not originally created for an anime series or video game, or straight covers of such songs by Japanese artists (for example, Fly Me To The Moon) are not allowed. English songs which are significantly changed or adapted from the original version (for example, rearranged and has Japanese verses) are okay. If you are in doubt as to whether a song is acceptable for the contest, please ask us before signing up, and we will make a ruling.

Original English or other non-Japanese songs from the dubbed version of an anime series or game are okay. (For example, the German theme to Sailor Moon, or songs from Robotech.)

No a cappella singing.

If contestants bring their own music, they must provide their own songs on an audio CD. No MDs, mp3s, or cassettes.

We will make a reasonable effort to return your CD to you, but are not responsible for lost or forgotten CDs. It is the responsibility of the contestant to claim their CD after the contest. Unclaimed CDs may be disposed of at our discretion after the convention.

Contestants may choose songs from our open mic library if they cannot provide their own music. However, this is done at the contestent�s own risk. We are not responsible if the song sounds different from what the contestant was expecting, and we do not guarantee the availability of any particular song.

Contestants must provide their own song lyrics, if needed.

Songs must be in their original format as on the released CD and may not be edited, altered, or remixed by the contestant or other party in any way. Remixes which have appeared on an official released CD (for example, one of the many different remixes by Ayumi Hamasaki) are okay.

All contestants who do not have karaoke versions of their songs must perform with vocal dampening turned on. We want to hear you, not the original vocal track.  Vocal dampening has been known to have unexpected effects with some songs, so if you don�t have the karaoke version of a song, we strongly suggest that you test out the song first at home.

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

Songs are limited to two and a half minutes (TV version, or one verse and chorus) for the Preliminary round, and five minutes for final round songs. Songs longer than these limits will be faded out when the limit is reached.

Scoring
Contestants will be scored on singing merit (67%), and presentation/showmanship (33%).

In addition, "Coolness Points" can be earned. Coolness Points can be earned for anything which, simply, in the judge's determination, is cool, and can add up to an additional 10% bonus to the score.

The top 10 scoring acts in the qualifying round qualify for 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, all tied acts will advance to the final round. In the event of a tie, 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�re 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 interaction with the judges or the MC is allowed. Contestants may not touch or approach the judge�s table. Contestants may not go into the audience or use a audience member in their act. Actions that encourage general audience participation as a whole (such as asking the crowd to clap along to the song) are okay.

The only persons allowed in the performing area are the MC, Fanime Con Karaoke staff and guests, judges, and contestants.



To sign up for the contest, please go to this link:

http://www.kouha.net/kkd/contests/fanime/fanime2006.php3

[zoupzuop2]

Waitaminute.

Does this also apply to "Open Mic"? Are there two divisions of Karaoke? Are they happening at the same time? Is one competitive whilst the other just for fun?

Many questions, yes... I'm interested in doing Karaoke, but I'm not sure as to whether or not I should do open mic or competition.

[Nina Star 9]

what?! friday?! ;_; i wish i could get there earlier so i can make it.. maybe i can reach the tail end of the preliminaries in time.. >> maybe... >> if i beg my mom to get there really early... >>

[Hank-KKD]

Waitaminute.

Does this also apply to "Open Mic"? Are there two divisions of Karaoke? Are they happening at the same time? Is one competitive whilst the other just for fun?

Many questions, yes... I'm interested in doing Karaoke, but I'm not sure as to whether or not I should do open mic or competition.

This is for the main contest only. There will be Open mic after the contest on Friday, and also Saturday and Sunday evenings (except for mabye one hour each of those nights when we are running a mini contest)

[zoupzuop2]

Ooh, glee! Mini-Contests!

I'm still getting the jist of the two songs I'm thinking of singing, so I might stick with the Open Mic karaoke. I've been working on Kawaiikune, Iroke Ga Ne, but I'm rusty on Hot Limit (especially the official lyrics... I'm not sure how the "Ritalin" take on Hot Limit would do, heh), so...

[angeljibrille]

The winner of the Karaoke contest is invited to perform your winning entry for the Masquerade audience on Sunday, May 28!  (no costume required ! ^_^) You will also get seats in the audience (no lines) for 3 friends or family members (unless a group wins the contest; then only the group gets seats).

The winner will need to contact me on Saturday at the Masquerade Desk (between 10am - 6pm) to provide a CD for your performance. You are invited to do a test run and a sound check at our rehearsal at 2pm in the Civic Auditorum on Sunday, and you will need to be stage-ready by 5:30pm on Sunday.

Plan on having an "encore" song; it must be a song from anime, a video game, or J-rock/J-pop.

Best of luck to each of you!

Marisa
FanimeCon Masquerade Coordinator

[zoupzuop2]

Ah. Note to self: Bring Yozora No Muko on 'dat cd.

Just checking, are the following songs valid?

*Ranma ½, "Kawaiikune! Iroke Ga Ne!" (Anime)
*John Desire, "Hot Limit" (Video Game)
*Eurobeat Lovers, "Yozora No Muko" (Video Game)

Edit: 123'd post for the WIN!

[Jyunishinsho]

Also; just an observation...

No ruling on Gackt.
I'm pretty sure they are banned, am I right?

[zoupzuop2]

Question:

Is the karaoke version of Kawaiikune! Iroke Ga Ne! found at the following website acceptable?

http://www.animekaraokes2.com/anime/r/ranma.html

The only other version I can find is the official version with vocals.

Because there is no "official" karaoke version of this song, will this version be acceptable or will I need to sing with the original with Voice whatsit-rather?

[Hank-KKD]

Question:

Is the karaoke version of Kawaiikune! Iroke Ga Ne! found at the following website acceptable?

http://www.animekaraokes2.com/anime/r/ranma.html

The only other version I can find is the official version with vocals.

Because there is no "official" karaoke version of this song, will this version be acceptable or will I need to sing with the original with Voice whatsit-rather?

There is, actually:

   Konya wa April Fool's / Kawaiku-ne, Irokega-ne  (Saotome Ranma)
      Pony Canyon CD-S: PCDG-00019 (1991.1.21), Y800
      5 tracks: 2 vocal/2 karaoke/1 voice, ??:??
      (From the song calendar track 4 and the song contest CDs,
       respectively, with original karaoke and also a production
       report of various CM by the principal voice actors.)

So I'd say this version is fine. I'm not sure we have this in the library (very few ppl request Ranma songs these days)

[Hank-KKD]

Also; just an observation...

No ruling on Gackt.
I'm pretty sure they are banned, am I right?

For the contest, you are free in your choice of artist as the song conform to the contest rules.

[zoupzuop2]

Question:

Is the karaoke version of Kawaiikune! Iroke Ga Ne! found at the following website acceptable?

http://www.animekaraokes2.com/anime/r/ranma.html

The only other version I can find is the official version with vocals.

Because there is no "official" karaoke version of this song, will this version be acceptable or will I need to sing with the original with Voice whatsit-rather?

There is, actually:

   Konya wa April Fool's / Kawaiku-ne, Irokega-ne  (Saotome Ranma)
      Pony Canyon CD-S: PCDG-00019 (1991.1.21), Y800
      5 tracks: 2 vocal/2 karaoke/1 voice, ??:??
      (From the song calendar track 4 and the song contest CDs,
       respectively, with original karaoke and also a production
       report of various CM by the principal voice actors.)

So I'd say this version is fine. I'm not sure we have this in the library (very few ppl request Ranma songs these days)

Aw, crud. Where would I find the mp3/cd? (Is there somewhere where I could find this particular MP3... online... with a discount? Five finger discount?

[zoupzuop2]

Waitaminute! The mp3 I have could still be legitimate!

The individual hosting the file on his/her site makes the following claim:

I do NOT deal with fan-made karaokes or karaoke compilation albums unless the compilation was made specifically for the anime (such as the Ranma 1/2 or Oh My Goddess karaoke compilations).

Is the file still valid? It seems to be taken straight from the CD itself (The cd with the karaoke version, meaning.)

[Hank-KKD]

Yes, that was the statement I was going by in my ruling. That song is valid.

[zoupzuop2]

Yes, that was the statement I was going by in my ruling. That song is valid.

:idea: OOOOOOOOOOOOooooh. Sorry, didn't catch that until just now, heh...

...thank you! That makes things a LOT easier!

[pockystix]

Ok, 2 questions:

1) Are duets allowed?
2) When I bring my songs on a disc, is data cd format allowed or is it strictly audio cd?

[Hank-KKD]

Ok, 2 questions:

1) Are duets allowed?
2) When I bring my songs on a disc, is data cd format allowed or is it strictly audio cd?

1. Yes.
2. Audio CD.

[Megumi]

umm...so does that mean that we can take a karaoke song and burn it onto an audio cd? i just want to be compeltely clear

[rock_lee_stalker_*stalks*]

wait, woh!! im a lil confused.. umm so its only for friday? when?? gah im sorry, im confused!!

[Makou]

All contestants who do not have karaoke versions of their songs must perform with vocal dampening turned on. We want to hear you, not the original vocal track.

Just so I know if a vocal dampening will work on the song I chose, do you know a program that does vocal dampening? I'm thinking of buying it so I can practice my singing anyway. Also, thank you very much for putting your time and effort into the contest. I really appreciate it.

Hope to see you at the con!
Sincerely,
Makou.