Karaoke Contest 2007 Rules

[Hank-KKD]

Note To Moderator: Please sticky this topic and unsticky the 2006 rules. Thank you.

Alright, here are the rules for the 2007 Karaoke Contest. We're expanding the contest to 35 acts and there are a few minor changes and clarifications from 2006, otherwise there should be nothing earth-shattering. Any questions, pls post or PM.

Contest Overview
The Fanime Con 2007 Karaoke Contest will take place on Saturday, May 26. 35 Individuals and Groups will vie for the right to be crowned the best singing act of Fanime Con! The Preliminary (qualifying) round will be from 1pm-4pm, and those who qualify will sing in the finals which are at 9PM. Contestants do not need to be present for the entire Preliminary round.


Eligibility
You must have a valid Fanime Con badge for Saturday.

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 Sunday, May 6. 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 35. Signups are first come, first served.

We will accept up to 30 spots before the convention. An additional five spots will be reserved for at-con sign-ups. Online sign-ups close once we receive 30 valid entries. Any at-con sign-ups in excess of the five allotted spots 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 excellent.

Contestants who pre-register for the convention must check in no later than 30 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).

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

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 (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 American version of  Sailor Moon, or songs from Robotech.)

No a cappella singing.

You should follow the song's original lyrics. Folks who want to write and perform their own original lyrics should sign up for our Original Lyrics Contest, which is Sunday night.

If contestants bring their own music, they must provide their own songs on an audio CD. No MDs, mp3s CDs, cassettes, or mp3 players.

We will make a reasonable effort to return your CD to you, but are ultimately 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. If your CD is hard to replace we strongly suggest you claim it immediately after you have sung.

Contestants who sign up at the convention may choose songs from our open mic library if they cannot provide their own music. However, this is done at the contestant'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, except for contestants who use our song open mic library.

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 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 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.

[RyannBTW]

The countdown to May 6 has begun!

[anime_freakx1000]

Ok, I have a couple of questions. ^^

1. Is there an age limit for the karaoke contest?

2. How many rounds in the karaoke contest are there in total?
Or is there only a preliminary round and a final round...

3. The people who get into the final round, where are the results put? (For e.g. In front of the door or something like that)

4. So, we are not allowed to sing only one song for the whole karaoke contest?

5. For the preliminary round, do we HAVE to get there by 1pm? Can we just drop in like at 3 or something?

6. For "Cool" points, how can you be "cool?" I just don't get that. Lol. Like you need to be all smooth, good looking, and etc? o.O!?

7. For the karaoke, what happens if it isn't really official. Because I know this guy online, who made a karaoke out of a famous song. But it isn't really official, but can I still use it? Because the official song does not have an official karaoke.

Sorry, it just seems blurry to me. ^^ Thank you for your time.
Good luck to anyone who participates~

[Hank-KKD]

Ok, I have a couple of questions. ^^

1. Is there an age limit for the karaoke contest?

2. How many rounds in the karaoke contest are there in total?
Or is there only a preliminary round and a final round...

3. The people who get into the final round, where are the results put? (For e.g. In front of the door or something like that)

4. So, we are not allowed to sing only one song for the whole karaoke contest?

5. For the preliminary round, do we HAVE to get there by 1pm? Can we just drop in like at 3 or something?

6. For "Cool" points, how can you be "cool?" I just don't get that. Lol. Like you need to be all smooth, good looking, and etc? o.O!?

7. For the karaoke, what happens if it isn't really official. Because I know this guy online, who made a karaoke out of a famous song. But it isn't really official, but can I still use it? Because the official song does not have an official karaoke.

Sorry, it just seems blurry to me. ^^ Thank you for your time.
Good luck to anyone who participates~

1. No.
2. Two rounds (preliminary and finals)
3. Sign outside the Karaoke room.
4. You cannot sing the same song in both rounds.
5. When you sign up, you will pick when you want to go (early, late, or don't care). Then I will post the contestant order. As long as you are there when your name is called it's fine.
6. It's up to the judges. Generally it's things like singing a particularly high note well. Think of it more as bonus points for a good performance.
7. Official songs only- no "homemade" karaoke tracks.

[anime_freakx1000]

Ah, kk, thanks for the info. ^^ And, where is exactly is the karaoke room?
Sorry..><

[Hank-KKD]

Ah, kk, thanks for the info. ^^ And, where is exactly is the karaoke room?
Sorry..><

Hall C in the Convention Center.

[SohmaYuki]

Can we have a new rule for Karaoke room?

* Rob cannot sing... ever.

I think that's a good rule.

[anime_freakx1000]

Thank you, Galewolf. ^^

[ip136]

Can we have a new rule for Karaoke room?

* Rob cannot sing... ever.

I think that's a good rule.

But Rob did like.. the BEST Mononoke Ending I've like. totally ever heard!

[Hank-KKD]

But Rob did like.. the BEST Mononoke Ending I've like. totally ever heard!

Gotta admit, that was quite a memorable rendition!

[yumicchi88]

i know its not time yet to sign up, but when the time comes, where do we go to sign up for it?

[heeroyuy135]

Online...or if you get lucky at the con (your best bet is to register online)

[RyannBTW]

Online...or if you get lucky at the con (your best bet is to register online)

Agreed.

Do those 30 spots usually fill up on the first day after the link is posted?

[Hank-KKD]

When the time comes, signup instructions will be posted here on the forums.

Historically, it takes at least a few days for the signups to fill up, but I wouldn't wait too long!

[RyannBTW]

I plan on signing up on May 6, I just wanted to know if I needed to stay up until midnight to do it or not.

[jetspectacular]

are the prizes the same as 2006? as in.. the winners get optional masq preformance and seats??

[Inuashley]

I have another time issue similiar to anime freak - I have a cosplay gathering at 1pm on saturday, so could I check in before 12:30 and then show up at 3pm for the prelims? In that case, should I select "Late" as my time preference when I sign up online? Thanks ^_^

[Jailbait]

Are Dance Dance revolution songs legit if they are least partly in Japanese?

[Hank-KKD]

I have another time issue similiar to anime freak - I have a cosplay gathering at 1pm on saturday, so could I check in before 12:30 and then show up at 3pm for the prelims? In that case, should I select "Late" as my time preference when I sign up online? Thanks ^_^

Yes, exactly. You should also sign up on May 6 to assure that you get a late enough spot. The earlier you sign up, the later you'll be if you specify "late as possible"

Are Dance Dance revolution songs legit if they are least partly in Japanese?

Yes.

are the prizes the same as 2006? as in.. the winners get optional masq preformance and seats??

I am waiting for an answer from Masquerade on whether the contest winner will be able to perform this year. Otherwise the prizes are the same.

I plan on signing up on May 6, I just wanted to know if I needed to stay up until midnight to do it or not.

We do not know yet what time during the day the signups will be up. It could be in the afternoon, or it could be late that night. We'll try and give a heads-up a couple of days before.

[RyannBTW]

I plan on signing up on May 6, I just wanted to know if I needed to stay up until midnight to do it or not.

We do not know yet what time during the day the signups will be up. It could be in the afternoon, or it could be late that night. We'll try and give a heads-up a couple of days before.

Much appreciated.