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I read this late but I really want to say this -- yeah obvs im@s songs that are directly featured in the anime are legit. These Anime/Game ones are a bit interesting as far as legitimacy go - Songs featured purely in the game would be ineligible for the anime requirement, but if you found an im@s cd that was directly labeled as "from the anime," the songs on it would be eligible under the image song subsection even if they weren't featured in the anime, but only if they weren't disqualified for other reasons. If you go this route you better have proof just in case someone decides to call you out and be like WAS THAT EVEN IN THE ANIME OR IS THAT A GAME ONLY SONG? MY FAVORITE IM@S SONG IS SNOW HALATION!

Just sayin'. n-not that any of our staff would mistake yayoi for nico or anything like that...

I swear I didn't break it!

It looks like you're probably trying to make one of your song choices "I'm Alive" right?
Remove the ' or write it I\'m Alive
I think the form just doesn't handle ' or " gracefully. Sorry about that! When I can get a hold of whoever wrote it, I'll ask them to fix it for us.

Signups are now open for our Karaoke Contest, AcoustiKaraoke, and the Karaoke Gong Show! Make sure to check our main thread for rules and info about our main contest, as well as ways to sign up for all our events!

Quick Links:
Our main Karaoke Contest's Online Signups are CLOSED. Please sign up at-con the day of the contest.

AcoustiKaraoke Signup Form

Karaoke Gong Show Signup Form

Forms will be closed when we reach our signup threshold for each contest. Read the main thread for more info!

If I have a backing/karaoke track of my own that is different from the original (like an acoustic version or a dubstep version etc) is that allowed or do we have to have the original track?

This is a difficult question to answer without knowing more about the source material. At first glance it falls under an unacceptable fan-made work (Especially if you were the one who created it.) To check if your song choice is actually valid, you would have to contact me or another senior karaoke staff member about the specific song in question, the source material, who created it, and your reasons for using it. We would review the info, determine if the song adapts the source material adequately, see if the creator falls within our 'well-established' criteria, and ultimately say if it's a legitimate reason to use it over other sources.

This is the proper way to include a doujin song in the contest. If you fail to notify us about its inclusion you may be asked to change your song before performing, or possibly disqualified, so take a minute or two and pm me if you insist on going this route!

[Edit]: Contest Forms are now live! Check the original post for links!

Question!
If we've done the contest before but it was YEARS ago, are we allowed to pick the same songs as before? Or at least one? I know it'd be shooting it back to do it, but just for kicks is it allowed?

Your song choice is your decision entirely. I've never heard of a restriction on song choice due to what you've sang in a previous year, even if you've placed using the song before. Of course, if the judges remember your performance then you will have the extra pressure of topping your own performance as well as competing with the other contestants. Just a thought.

Pardon me if this question was already asked, but would I be allowed to sing the same song for both the prelim and final rounds?

No, they must be two different songs.

Oh no!  I was hoping to sing Bink's Sake from One Piece as my opening run. .... Do I have to find another choice now?

...or, as a second thought, am I allowed to keep singing after you fade me out?  At least until I get to a valid stopping point in the song?  I certainly wouldn't want to get cut-off mid-verse.

I can't comment on what we've done for other shows (I didn't get to go to the specific show in question this year, boo) So I don't know what was allowed or why. Can only tell ya what we're doing for Fanime right now.

The time limit is one and a half minutes, so you could stop yourself at the 1:15 time and be fine. Remember, you aren't penalized for cutting your performance shorter than 1:30, so do what feels natural as far as that goes. Do you have to find another choice? I can't help there, that's ultimately your decision.

You are not allowed to continue singing after being faded out. Sorry, it would be unfair to other performers. Instead, when you practice take note of how long the song has been going and how long you have been singing, and stop yourself when you get close to the limit, so when you're on stage you can simply take a bow and say thank you, and you won't leave it up to me to fade you out.

That's a good note for everyone, honestly: Be proactive about things like your time limit. Don't depend on me to do what you think is right, because I might hear it a completely different way and fade you out ten seconds before you think I should have. Learn your limit and stick to it. If you practiced but are still worried about being faded out on, tell me during warm-ups. We'll figure it out to make sure it's a valid timing and that we're both on board with what will happen. Then remind me when it's time for your performance (I got a lot to remember!) Cool? Cool.

There's no need to be confused. If Erik confirmed the contest winner performs in masquerade, then that's what happens. It's their show, not ours! I was just trying to double-check to make sure that agreement is still in place before I confirmed it. Can't blame me considering how many other silly mistakes I keep making, can you? :3c

So what are the prizes? (Just curious!) Does first place still get to sing in the masquerade?

Prizes haven't been decided on yet, but it should be pretty decent. All I can say about that.

Are both the individual and group entries combined in the same karaoke contest?  Or are they separate contests?
And if they're part of the same contest, are individual and group entries judged differently?

Both groups and individuals are combined in the same contest. The top ten entries in the preliminaries will move on to the finals.

If I'm reading the rules correctly, it state that a contestant can sign up for both the individual and group category.
Theoretically, does that mean a contestant can pass the preliminary round twice and appear twice in the finals? Or is there some sort of exception if this is the case?

This was a mistake, Apologies for the oversight. Because of Fanime's contest format, we only allow a person to sign up for one category.

As for open mic karaoke, can we bring mp3 players to use for that?  I find it easier to just dump all my karaoke tracks into a playlist on my ipod rather than burning a CD and having to keep a written list of which song is which.

For open mic, we allow any format that you can plug in using a 3.5mm jack, with one exception: We do not allow devices that are attempting to play streaming media sources (Youtube, Spotify, etc.) because the user experience is typically horrible inside the convention center. You might think you have five bars and can download at 25mbps but I guarantee the second you get on stage your song is going to buffer and it'll make for an awkward time all around.

Other notable things about open mic -

• flash drives or other removable media is up to the staff to decide if it's allowed; It matters on who's teching.
• CD's are allowed as long as we have a cd player in our tech computer(some of our netbooks don't have one.)
• We usually don't have internet so we can't just "download a song" or "find you lyrics for a song on your ipod."
• If you want to play an instrument we will try to mic it for you
  
  
  
  • if you require setup beyond that we might suggest you come back for AcoustiKaraoke and the Acoustic Open Mic

If you have any other specific use cases just let me know and i'll tell you if we can handle it or not. ex: I have a portable record player that outputs 1/4" (Yes we probably can but what in the world are you doing with that please tell i'm curious??)

In the portion about pitch shifting, what do you mean by "provided no other excluded alterations are made?"

Meaning section g - prohibited alterations, or any other alterations that are not specifically mentioned as being allowed. For example, "changing the pitch" by playing with the speed of a song is not allowed. I know, it may seem silly given the other rules we have in place, but there ya go.

I have a couple of things I'd like to clarify about the new rules.
First, when you say that it's 1 minute of singing OR a verse/chorus, which is the or contingent upon? It is based on whichever is longer, or whichever is shorter?
For reference, this is the song I am considering: https://youtu.be/k8TPhQjZe1A
The singing starts about 15 seconds in, and the end of the first chorus is at about 1:53. Would I be able to sing to the end of the chorus, or would I be cut off before then?

It's based on whatever fits better, to be honest. Do a verse/chorus but still have thirty seconds left somehow? You can do more singing if you choose to keep going, but you'll be faded out once you hit 1:30. Performed a verse and you're halfways through the chorus just as we hit 1:30? I'll usually let you finish it if we're running on-time and it makes sense to me. As long as you let me know either during warmups or when you're in the on-deck area of any shenanigans with your song, we should be able to work it out.

With your reference case - We're shooting for 90 seconds. Your verse/chorus is 113. Removing the 15 seconds since you haven't started singing yet, you're at 98. If there was any pause past the 90s mark I'd probably start fading you out, but if you're still singing you'd be able to squeeze in the last bit of the chorus before I'd start to fade you. You don't have to do this, but I would suggest that you find a fade-in point somewhere closer to when you start singing, either by letting me know what time to start you at, or just editing your song down yourself.

Second, you said it is okay to start a song wherever, but is it okay to chop out a long instrumental in the middle? Or, at least, shorten that instrumental?
Or I can just ask about my specific song, because there are multiple versions. Do you know if the version of Adieu (from Cowboy Bebop) in the database is the long version (6+ minutes) or the shorter version (5.5 mins)? (though, even the shorter version would need to be faded out around 5:18 to catch all the singing...) If I can chop out 18 seconds of the instrumental in the middle, that would be fantastic.

I don't believe editing out the instrumentals from the middle of a song is allowed. At that point it's editing the song's composition, not just fading it in or out or making other small adjustments. That being said, the final's song time limits are not put under as much scrutiny as preliminaries so I would suggest against making any changes and sing it all the way through.

Talking specifically about adieu - First of all, our database version is 5:40(though it is not a karaoke track! just a reminder.) The vocals do end around 5:18. This is still within an acceptable time for a finals song and we would let you sing it to completion. If the song was 6-7 minutes we'd have to discuss alternatives.

For preliminaries, you may sing whatever portion of the song you'd like. For Finals, you have five minutes so you'll most likely be singing the entire song regardless.

Yes, one song choice must be from an anime. It is an anime convention, after all! It's your choice whether you want it to be your preliminary or finals song though.

I'm glad to see everyone getting so excited for the contest! Keep those questions coming. Remember, I can answer questions about the other contests too! Or open mic in general! Don't forget to ask about them!

Applying your own vocal dampening is allowed.

Feel free to crop the song exactly to where you want to start and finish. Otherwise, just telling me what time to start or stop is fine. But giving me less work is always appreciated! You never know if I'll get distracted by someone asking a question or another technical issue.

Sorry, you're right, it seems the rules for 2014 on the forums say it was 2 minutes. I thought FanimeCon had been running the current format for longer, but I must have been confused with one of our other shows. If that's the case, I suppose this ruling is new for 2015. I've already double-checked with Tommy and he confirmed that we'll be using this format.

There are three reasons for this change:
1) We want to let as many people into the contest as possible
2) We want everyone to be judged fairly, which mean we need to keep the judges' impressions fresh
3) A single verse/chorus structure is an acceptable preliminary measure of what you have to display in the contest

We absolutely encourage you to start wherever you want in the song. Also remember that this limit begins where you first start singing, not when we first hit play. We want you to get to that showy bit, and we want for you to impress us! Our intent is not to stifle your creativity or make you feel rushed. We just want to ensure that everyone gives their best performance. If you have any other specific questions about this rule, I'm glad to answer more questions about it, or ask Tommy to give his expert opinion.

[Edit]: In the previous post, I said that groups had a different time than individuals. This is false. Apologies. Groups have the same time limit as individuals.
[Edit 2]: After putting together the full rulelist specifically for fanime, we opted to change the Preliminary times to "1.5minutes or verse/chrous" to prevent any confusion or anxiety over song choice. While the previous limit worked in past cons, we don't want to give the impression that you couldn't even perform a TV Size song to completion. Apologies for giving out information before it had been finalized.
[Edit 3]: Contest Rules and Info have been added to the main post! just follow the link provided.

I'll be posting full contest rules after I get them double-checked for inconsistencies, but all these questions are super important, FAQ-level ones so I'm happy to answer them!

1) Are the song time limits still 2:00 for the first round and 5:00 for the finals?

Our preliminary song limit actually changed a couple years ago. In the rules it's now stated as:

Preliminary/Qualifying Round
1.5 minute OR verse/chorus

The timing starts from when singing starts. These rules will allow you to perform a song that is edited for a TV opening or ending. For more unorthodox songs, a minute will give you plenty of time to show your stuff. These are soft limits and you are faded out gradually depending on where you are in your performance and other factors. You're always welcome to start your song at a certain point, or fade out after a limit you set for yourself though! Just talk to me about it at the tech desk and we'll make it work.

2) Is it still okay to add a note or two and a few moments of silence to the beginning of a karaoke track where the singing starts before the instrumentals?

Yes, this is allowed. Please reference the full rules when they are posted for more specific info on what is and is not allowed as far as Count-offs and pitch-centering additions.

3) Are we allowed to bring and or use props while on stage?

This is actually a new rule we've recently added to our contest rules. As such, I'll list it here in its entirety rather than try to explain it :3c

Any props carried on stage must be relevant to your costume or outfit and not impact or disrupt your performance in any way.
Props that alter the lighting or staging of your performance are not allowed.
You must clear all prop usage with staff before your performance.
Cosplay prop usage may be considered as a minimal factor in your overall stage presence/performance but will not impact your score.
Good Example: A staff that matches your costume which you incorporate into a light dance routine.
Bad Example: A prop that spews confetti on the stage and audience, or adds a laser light beam/fog machine effect.

4) It's still illegal to record your own harmonies to a karaoke track, right?

This is correct. We don't want the best producer to win, we want it to be based purely on the singer.

Where's the link to the list of songs that are already available in the karaoke library? :) And can we request new songs to be added like in previous years?

Our song list is located at http://www.anime-karaoke.com
I'll start a thread for new song requests if there isn't already one/no one makes one before me. As always, we can't promise we will get all of the songs you want, but we will definitely try!

[Events:]

Whether you sing in the shower or on the radio, you're welcome to FanimeCon's Karaoke room! Open from 2pm to 2am on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you are welcome to sign up for open mic Karaoke, participate in one of our amazing contests, or just come and listen to all the great singers! With our jaw-dropping catalog of over 9,000 anime, video game, J-Pop, K-Pop, and Disney songs (most with lyrics in both their native language and English) as well as a full American karaoke system, our database likely contains every song you have ever heard in your entire life.

Be sure to check out our enticing contests, too! With some great prizes and unique formats, your voice may win you big!


Events:
Karaoke Contest
How good is your singing, really? Can you hit the highest highs and the lowest lows? Can you carry a tune, or will you just be dragging it through the mud? FanimeCon's Karaoke Contest is the place to find out how good you really are. Friday night, with Preliminary Rounds starting at 6pm and Final Rounds at 9pm, be at the Karaoke Room to have your chance for the sweet, sweet sound of victory. New for FanimeCon 2015, winners of the Karaoke Contest will be offered a chance to give an encore performance during the Masquerade!
Prelims: Friday at 6pm
Finals: Friday at 9pm

KARAOKE CONTEST ONLINE SIGNUPS ARE CLOSED
All 35 entries have been filled for the online signups. Please show up bright and early at the karaoke room if you would still like to sign up. First come, first serve!

We will only accept the first 35 valid entries for pre-con signups. We do have at-con signups but they are first come, first serve. These at-con slots fill up quickly, so if you're serious about participating make sure to sign up early!

KARAOKE CONTEST RULES AND INFO
FanimeCon Karaoke Contest Rules and Info can be found at The Google Doc

Acoustikaraoke
Acoustikaraoke Signup Form:FanimeCon 2015 Acoustikaraoke Signup Form
Do you play a musical instrument? Show off your own original work or special arrangement of your favorite anime or video game song on stage at our Acoustikaraoke contest! Both (small) groups and solo acts are welcome to compete their talents against one another. Do not miss this amazing collection of FanimeCon's most unique performances!
Saturday at 7pm

Karaoke Gong Show
Gong Show Signup Form:FanimeCon 2015 Gong Show Signup Form
Sunday at 10pm begins the most foul Karaoke journey ever attempted on stage -- the Karaoke Gong Show! If your skin is thick enough and your mind twisted enough then you've got a fighting chance at being the dreaded Worst of Show! Yes that's right, these performers have what it takes to entertain, to amuse and amaze our audience (and judges) with such unique and outlandish acts of comedy that they might completely defy any and all explanation. Due to how terrible these novelty acts (and the judges) are, this is an 18+ event.
Sunday at 10pm


More specific contest rules and info will be posted in the coming days, so please look forward to that. Feel free to use this thread to discuss our events, ask questions about our contests, or just to ask how karaoke at FanimeCon works. I'll try my best to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for reading, and let's get excited for Karaoke at FanimeCon 2015!

Don't worry, hank can't get away that easily!

As for all the karaoke contest information, We'll be posting a lot of that within the next couple of days(as well as what day signups open and how to sign up.) Sorry to make you wait a bit longer!