AleziRadio Festival of Songs

AleziRadio Festival of Songs
Genre	Music Competition
Created by	AleziRadio (Now subsidiary of Alezian Broadcasting Authority)
Presented by	Various presenters
Country of origin	North Alezia (1958-2020), Alezian Union (2021-)
No. of episodes	63 contests
Production
Production location(s)	Various locations, all in Alezian Union
Running time	2 hours
Release
Original network	AleziRadio
Original release	16th of May 1958

AleziRadio Festival of Songs, abbreviated and mostly known as ARFOS (Arabic: مهرجان الأغاني العزي راديو / Maharajan Al'aghniu 'Aliziiradiyu) (Dutch : AleziRadio Muziekfestival) (Indonesian : Festival Lagu AleziRadio) (Georgian : ალეზი რადიო სიმღერების ფესტივალი / AleziRadio simgherebis pest’ivali) (Alezian : Fe'isti'fa'ali Ka'ina Alezi'iRadi'oi) is a National Music Competition that is held every 16th of May of every year since 1958, which is also North Alezia's independence. The competition used to only feature regions of North Alezia, however, after the reunification of the Alezian Union happened, ARFOS now features all 24 regions of the Alezian Union. Each region sends in a song which then all regions would vote on as well as other songs from other regions to decide the winner of that edition's competition. The competition is broadcasted to regional stations of the Alezian Broadcasting Authority (Previously AleziRadio)

Since the start of the competition, only all North Alezian regions has participated in the competition every year. As Mosin-Nagan and Pantabang Islands only debuted in 1966, Daya Island debuted in 1967, and South Alezia debuted in 2021 as well as the dividing Mosin-Nagan and Pantabang Islands' entries to six as they are equal members of the Alezian Union as of 2021.

The competition has received positive acclaim, hitting at least three million views every year, and applauded for bringing Alezian Popular Music to a new positive level. Additionally, ARFOS is applauded for being a board for Alezians who came from regions who would usually be left out or be unknown to present themselves and their cultures and languages to the nation.

However, the competition was also criticized for uncertain quality of hosting where each region has vastly different qualities of hosting, and the fact that songs are too uncertain quality-wise. ARFOS is also criticized for being "too old" for the modern Alezian population, and the fact that ARFOS was a remnant of the Iliya Dictatorship. ARFOS stays strong due to the fact that ARFOS adapted to the modern times.

History

AleziRadio came to be after a meeting in Zafizamarrah decided that a song competition between all six regions in North Alezia was the best way to promote friendship and friendly rivalry between all regions, and to promote each others' musical capabilities. The idea for the competition itself was rumoured to be proposed by Amina Iliya, the first permier of North Alezia herself. However, it was proven to be false 60 years later (2018) where it was actually proposed by the Head Director of AleziRadio at the time, Muhammad Rizannurahmanurrahim.

Six regions participated in the first competition in 1958 held in capital Zafizamarrah. Where Aziz Goridagyev Novogrody with the song "Dasvidanya" won the first edition and became a national legend. As the competition progressed, so as technology. Where television broadcast was experimented in 1960, and finally became the norm in 1978, with colour broadcast first starting in 1983. Sattelite broadcast started in 1990, Streaming and Widescreen Broadcast in 2003, and High Definition Broadcast in 2005.

The competition became a mainstay for North Alezians all around the country, and territories such as Mosin-Nagan, Pantabang Islands, and Daya Island joined into the competition separate from their dependant region.

Reunification of the Alezian Union resulted in North Alezia joined in by South Alezia who was interested in participating since 1966, but never realizing it until the 2021 competition.

The AleziRadio Festival of Songs has been used occasionally by Alezians to protest against the dictatorship at the time, especially by the Democratization Movement which angered the family that the threat of cancellation roams around, however, the competition continue to flourish even after the dictatorship ended.

Rules

Songs

In the AleziRadio Festival of Songs, the rules mandates each region to send in two songs. All songs must be original and not covers of any other songs, never be used for any other festival, or not released before 1st of February of the festival's year. All songs must not contain sensitive topics such as hate speech, racism, or excessive violence explicitly. All songs must include lyrics and vocals, which means instrumental-only songs are not eligible. Songs must be sung in the official major or minor language of that region, however, if won, the song must be reprised in English.

Artists

Each region must send in two artists, where each must sing only one of the two entries. There is no age limit, however each artists must either born or live in that region for at least 15 years. Borrowing artists from other regions or territories is not allowed. Backing singers, performers, and dancers are allowed, as long as the amount of people on stage not exceed six. In 2015 after the participation of Luna The Cat, the rule was added to not allow live animals on stage. Artists who participate should never have a record of entering the Alezian Charts on any circumstances.

Performance

In the AleziRadio Festival of Songs, all songs must be performed live and all must be accompanied by at least 10% of the orchestra. Backing tracks are allowed, however, backing vocals must be live.

Running Order

The running order of the competition is decided based on the ranks of the participating regions of the previous AleziRadio Festival of Songs. Any new regions' entries shall be put on the last spots on the competition. If there's more than one debuting region, then the entries are assembled alternatively to prevent the same debuting region performing consecutively.

Voting

At the end of the last song, a voting session will ensue. Across the history of the competition, voting methods has been different throughout the years as the committee experiment with various methods to ensure competitiveness and the "fun" of the competition. In the voting session, all participating regions are contacted through any means as the two juries revealed their votes through the call and the votes will be translated to the scoreboard. The winner shall only be revealed after all juries has cast their votes.

In the past, juries were contacted by telephone. This method continues until 1990 where all juries are now contacted through satellite where viewers can see the juries' faces. However, an exception happened in 1972 where a sudden telephone line cut forces the voting procedure to proceed with the usage of amateur radios.

Year	Method
1958-1959, 1961	Each region participating sends in thirty juries where each votes for their favorite songs, each region can vote for their own.
1960	Each region sends in six people as juries where each rank all songs from 1-10, each region can't vote for their own.
1962-1964	Each region participating sends in twenty juries where each votes for only one of their favorite songs, each region can't vote for their own.
1965-1971	Each region participating sends two juries where each voted 1-5 for 5 of their favorite songs.
1972-1976	Each region participating sends two juries and a public vote where each gives 1-5 for 5 of their favorite songs.
1977	Each region participating sends two juries and a public vote where each gives 1-7 for 7 of their favorite songs.
1978-	Each region participating sends two juries and two public votes where each gives 1-5 for 5 of their favorite songs.

The votes of the participating regions are then put into the scoreboard. Naturally, the one who got the most scores wins the competition.

Tiebreaker

As the contest progressed, there has been occasions where two or more regions got the same score. In 1964, two songs are in contention for the winner. Urgently, the tiebreaker system was born which also changed over time. At first the system was only used for the winning song. However, in 1967 the rule was updated so that the rule applies to all songs.

Year	Method
1958-1964	No tiebreaker.
1965	Revote as all 30 juries (except for the two tiebreaking regions) vote for their favorite out of the two
1966-	Decided by whichever songs earn more 5 points.

Nul Points

As the competition progressed, few songs have been noted due to how they failed to receive any points. Artists that sung the song usually earned negative remarks from the public shortly after the competition. However, some has recorded successful reputation long after their nul points. Songs that failed to earn a single point include:

Year	Region	Artist	Song
1967	Pantabang Islands	Sragan Na'epan Dadon	A'i
1968	Tel Hadiv	Nesha Lanayeil	לַיְלָה
1968	Bristol	Mark Dashings	Everything
1969	Pyalivostok	Novinkov Dalyenko	У каждого свои проблемы
1969	Daya Island	Eni Kakovinen	jonain päivänä joku rakastaa sinua
1969	Aramna	Yessie Marrerievais	J'ais Sais N'ai Cais Quais J'ais Sais
1969	Bristol	Darrings Earthwell	Someday
1973	Pantabang Islands	Na'orched Orchid Salem	Ma'a'i Ina'ana'ina'a'i Ma'i'a'au
1974	Basna	Intana Ratnawati	Tetap
1976	Daya Island	KAKOVINEN GROUP	Saa minut uskomaan
1976	Tel Hadiv	Yakolsna'el and Daysha'el A'eshma	בשבילה ובשבילו
1977	Basna	Drajat Dariwi	Sungai

Hosting and Winners

The winner of AleziRadio Festival of Songs is revealed after all juries are contacted and has fully revealed their votes without fail. Naturally, the song which earned the most points won the competition.

The prize of winning AleziRadio Festival of Songs are varied. But it usually contains a package of money (usually totalling to more than AZ$ 100,000 counting for inflation), a contract deal with AleziRadio Records (subsidiary of ABA Music Records from 1998), a gold medal and a trophy, and unofficially, high prestige back in the winner's home region.

Other than for the singer, the composer and lyricist would earn the same amount of money and a special trophy each. This means that if the composer and lyricist were the same person, the person would earn twice the money and twice the trophy.

The regional broadcaster who sent the winning song would be contacted by AleziRadio on 3x24 hours after the victory was announced to ask if the regional broadcaster is prepared to host the next AleziRadio Festival of Songs. If the region declined due to various reason, the competition would go to the region who got 2nd, then 3rd. If all top 3 regions rejected, the competition automatically goes to the capital, Zafizamarrah (even if Zafizamarrah had rejected, in case that Zafizamarrah rejected, AleziRadio would give additional funding to Zafizamarrah. This clause does not apply if Zafizamarrah already won).

If accepted, the region would receive AZ$ 275,000 in today's money from AleziRadio to specifically be used for funding the competition. Any additional funding must come from either the regional broadcaster or the regional government. The regional broadcaster must work together with AleziRadio on the issue of venue, orchestra, and brand identity. Sponsorships are allowed.

List of Editions and Winners

Edition	Year	Host City	Winning Region	Winning Artist	Winning Song	Points
I	1958	Metropolitan Zafizamarrah, ZF	Pyalivostok	Aziz Goridagyev Novogrody	До свидания	24
II	1959	Pyalivostokgrad, PY	Bristol	Nathaniel Swayne	Make Me Believe in You	23
III	1960	Aubergine, BR	Tel Hadiv	Meriyev Asloan	אתה ואני	188
IV	1961	Tel Hadiv, TH	Pyalivostok	Helen Kakovanova	Это может быть любовь	26
V	1962	Pyalivostokgrad, PY	Zafizamarrah	Maryam Isnoora	كم هو جميل بالنسبة لي أن أحب نفسي	17
VI	1963	Metropolitan Zafizamarrah, ZF	Basna	Marina Ramirona	Dan Aku Berjalan Ke Luar Kota	16
VII	1964	Basna Kota, BA	Pyalivostok	Ika Naavalainen	Olemme erillisiä, silti olemme yhdessä	15
VIII	1965	Pyalivostokgrad, PY	Zafizamarrah	Rina Yublaqani	خيانة	29
IX	1966	Metropolitan Zafizamarrah, ZF	Zafizamarrah	Makarina Hisyamuraddin	حقيقة	23
X	1967	Metropolitan Zafizamarrah, ZF	Pyalivostok	Harzanov Kalicheev	Выбирая свои пути	38
XI	1968	Yovonyk, PY	Zafizamarrah	Muhammad Ishaqburahhim	البكاء من أجل شخص آخر	37
XII	1969	Oldport-Newport, ZF	Pyalivostok	Aziz Goridagyev Novogrody	Беда отвергнутых	58
XIII	1970	Yakovskut, PY	Daya Island	Aridena Marelie	Kaipaan sinua	30
XIV	1971	Aaren, DI	Zafizamarrah	Madina Sawfana	شيء واحد أريده	40
XV	1972	Metropolitan Zafizamarrah, ZF	Zafizamarrah	Masfir Hawraz and Ana Ruhamaina	الطموحات	60
XVI	1973	Metropolitan Zafizamarrah, ZF	Aramna	NEVESLENA	Ding-Dong	58
XVII	1974	Las Araminhaes, AR	Zafizamarrah	Mizzi Hawafi	الحب الفني	51
XVIII	1975	Metropolitan Zafizamarrah, ZF	Bristol	Adam Marvels	Jennie, Jennie	46
XIX	1976	Victoria, BR	Tel Hadiv	Khaled Sha'el	האהבה שלנו	80
XX	1977	Tel Hadiv, TH	Pyalivostok	Aziz Goridagyev Novogrody	Разбивая друг другу сердца	138

Medal Table

Region	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Zafizamarrah	7	9	7	23
Basna	1	3	0	4
Tel Hadiv	2	4	2	8
Pyalivostok	6	0	5	11
Bristol	2	1	1	4
Aramna	1	3	3	7
Daya Island	1	1	1	3
Pantabang Islands	0	0	0	0
Mosin-Nagan	0	1	2	3