Welcome, one and all, to this, the fantastic eighty-first MafiaScum Song Contest!
What is the MafiaScum Song Contest?
The MafiaScum Song Contest is a monthly (give or take) competition modeled after the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It's a means to gain exposure to new music through the tastes of your peers, like it or not. Those that enter must also vote for the people they are running against based on how much they like the songs. Everyone picks an alias in the form of a country (any one of your choosing) and sends in a song that they like in order to expose it to the other contestants. After voting, they are tallied in the thread and a winner is named. No matter who wins, everyone wins by gaining new knowledge of songs, artists, albums and genres of music in the process!
List of Previously Entered Songs
How to Participate in the Song Contest:
1. Find a song that you like on any internet medium that isn't restricted or private.
2. Fill out the following application and send it to the Song Contest account:
APPLICATION
1. Country (this is ONLY an alias for anonymity; your entry can have nothing to do with the country that you pick. The reserved countries can be requested, but the original submitter has priority to them. Privately ask if you have a country preference. If you request something that is reserved and taken, I reserve the right to random you a country to speed up the process of entries in the case of your absence; you can change this later even when entries are out)
2. Name of Artist
3. Name of Song
4. Representative Picture of Artist (absolutely NO animations allowed; I resize it to 400x400 regardless of dimension, so aim for that resolution if you don't want your picture to look like ass. Only JPG, PNG and non-animated GIFs allowed)
5. Media (most people use youtube, but nothing is explicitly forbidden unless it is not accessible by everyone)
Please note that if there is a misspelling, I will try my best to fix it, but no promises. If you send this application to any account but the Song Contest account, it will be disregarded.
3. Wait until I reveal the entries. You may or may not be cut (as stated at the end of this post).
4. Once entries are revealed, PM the Song Contest once again in the following format by rating countries:
12 - Country A
10 - Country B
8 - Country C
7 - Country D
6 - Country E
5 - Country F
4 - Country G
3 - Country H
2 - Country I
1 - Country J
Countries that you like should get higher points. Please rate fairly by giving all countries a listen. Only country names, not artist or song names, should be submitted. You may not vote for yourself. Everyone, regardless of entry or cut status, may vote, so you can still participate even if you chose not to enter or if you got cut! However, if those that entered and are accepted do not vote, two things will happen: They will get a 20 point penalty and be banned from entering in the next contest, so please consider that before entering.
5. Wait for results. It's that simple!
What entries are/aren't allowed?
In order to eliminate bias, certain entries based on previous performance are banned. After dozens of contests and a following of a vague "Code of Ethics" by the Song Contest population, there have been so many entries that a rule system is now in place as to what can and cannot be entered. Please refer to the list of entered songs linked above and CTRL+F your artist AND song name to make sure it isn't included in the following list.
What isn't allowed?
-You cannot enter an artist that has won ANY contest in the past, no matter how far away that contest is.
-You cannot enter an artist that has been entered in the last 15 contests.
-You cannot enter a song that has been entered before, regardless of placement. (You can enter a cover or different version of that song.) For example: You cannot enter in "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, but you can enter in "The Hardest Button to Button" by The White Stripes.
-You cannot enter an artist that has gotten Top 3 in both a Song Contest and a Battle of the Best. For example: You may not enter anything by the Doves, as they got 2nd in both a BotB AND the Song Contest they were featured in.
-You cannot enter something that is not a "song". We generally interpret this term very loosely, but here are some examples:
Things considered a song: Anything created with an actual artist and song title that is INTENDED for the listener, even if it's painful to listen or even if there's nothing included (Examples: Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit, Eminem - Lose Yourself, Barney - I Love You, John Cage - 4'33, Sunn 0))) - 0))) Bow 1, etc.)
Things not considered a song: Anything without an artist or title, a video clip of something random, a comedy routine (unless it's an actual song ala Stephen Lynch), a large square wave, an animal barking, total silence not being attributed to an artist, etc. (Examples: A clip of Louis CK's Shameless, an ibex screaming, a clip of a game show, a clip of someone screaming, etc.)
I will let you know if your entry does not meet the criteria of a "song," but it should be fairly obvious.
What IS allowed, then?
-You can enter an artist that has gotten 2nd or lower at least 15 contests ago, as long as you do not repeat a song.
-You can enter an artist that got Top 3 in either a Song Contest or a Battle of the Best. As stated previously, it cannot have gotten top 3 in BOTH.
-You can enter a different version of a song entered before, such as a cover (or the original if the cover was entered first). For example, Johnny Cash's "Hurt" has already been entered, but you can still enter Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt".
Other than that, you're good! We'll let you know by PM if your entry violates these, but if it -does-, you have until the deadline to fix it or we reserve the right to deny your entry (as if you haven't entered one at all) due to time constraints. Be careful.
Reserved Countries
Argentina
Australia
Belarus
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Canada
Chile
Cote d'Ivoire
France
Gabon
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
India
Isle of Man
Italy
Japan
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Macedonia
Mali
Nauru
New Zealand
Philippines
Russia
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Serbia
Spain
St. Lucia
Tuvalu
Ukraine
USA
Wales
Western Sahara
Deadline for entries is 6 PM Eastern Time on Saturday, November 29th.
If we get more than 26 entries, the 26 participants in the competition will be decided based on the following criteria:
1. First-time entrants
2. Top 5 in the current rankings (hitogoroshi, Untrod Tripod, DeasVail, quadz08, Matias)
3. Last winner (next spot down if the person in 1st is guaranteed. Same for 2nd, 3rd, etc. WILL include staff members if they are not above) (Nexus)
4. Honorary and Current Song Contest Team (Porochaz,
JDodge
, Matias, hitogoroshi, quadz08)5. Any entrant who was cut in the period of the last 3 contests (except those cut for not voting) and has not used their guaranteed bid.
3 Contests remaining: (Parama, Knight of Cydonia, quilford, evilpacman18, CooLDoG, Natirasha, Bicephalous Bob, pappums rat, Korts, Pala, ChannelDelibird)
2 Contests remaining: (InflatablePie)
1 Contest remaining: (N/A)
6. Any entrant that has entered the Song Contest at least once in the past, but has not entered in the past 5 contests, including any BotBs and/or special events
7. Everyone else
The following people have been banned from this contest for not voting in the previous contest: (SleepyKrew, JDodge, Nicodemus, Burning_Earth, Dr Pants, MTD)
Anyone who does not make the cut is guaranteed a spot in one of the next 3 contests.
