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WHAT IS SUPER BITFEST IDOL???

 

Super Bitfest Idol is a karaoke contest, which finds its home in San Antonio, TX. This convention-based singing competition allows fans of Anime, Manga, video games, K- and J-rock/pop, nerd pop culture, and other media covered by Super Bitfest to perform songs from their favourite fandoms in front of a live audience and professional judging panel!

 

As a community event, we aim to:

a) promote a safe, supportive environment free of harsh critique;

b) give convention attendees a place where they can come to taste the limelight and sing in front of an enthusiastic crowd;

and 

c) foster talent within the geek and con community and help them grow as musicians and performers via coaching (if desired) and experience.

 

There is a lot of information included in this very TL;DR PDF, but we do please ask that you read it in its entirety to avoid missing out on anything important that may hinder your chances for fun and success during this event. 

 

Good luck, rockstar~! \m/ ^_^ \m/


 

MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED FOR SUPER BITFEST IDOL!

SIGN UP HERE: https://forms.gle/ScXNp86ntqCazXKSA

 

AUDITION & BACKING TRACK UPLOAD LINK:

https://www.dropbox.com/request/E3ZzPNy7Mxlpvx3aEj5g 

 



 

CONTEST RULES

 

1) In order to compete in Super Bitfest Idol, you must hold a valid badge in YOUR name for Super Bitfest 2022, and be a registered attendee at the convention. The badge must be valid for any day(s) the event is being attended by the entrant.

 

2) There is no extra fee to compete in Super Bitfest Idol; anyone with a valid convention Super Bitfest 2022 badge in their name may enter for free providing they audition in advance of the event (read on for more info).

 

3) Entrants must be at least 10 years of age to enter the competition. Proof of age may be requested and must be presented at the discretion of Super Bitfest staff. Entrants between the ages of 10 and 12 must have a parent, older sibling, or other legal guardian who is over the age of 18 present for the Final Round of the competition.

 

4) Songs performed must be referenced in some form of media/fandom that anime, nerd, and gaming conventions traditionally celebrate. Acceptable sources would be Vocaloid tracks, anime OP/EPs, television or movie themes, video game songs, nerd- or fandom-themed funny parody versions of regular Top 40 hits, etc. Songs may be performed in any language in this competition. Please have a back-up song ready if you are not certain your first choice will be allowed.

 

5) Backing tracks are the responsibility of the entrant — not the hosts, and we will not have any way to get backing music for you! Backing tracks must have no vocals, and should have as few BG vocals or harmonies on them as possible. The best backing tracks for these events consist solely of musical instrumentation. Try searching YouTube if you are having trouble finding an instrumental backing track. If contestants wish to sing a capella (without music) or use a guitar/ukulele, they may do so — however, please be advised that we may have to manually/physically ‘mic up’ your instrument on-stage in the event that we do not have outputs or jacks for electric-acoustic instruments.

 

6) Cosplay is allowed and encouraged at this event! Make sure you look your best for the judges — they will be taking the effort you put into your appearance into account!

 

7) As this is an ameteur competition, no “seasoned” performers may compete in Super Bitfest Idol. If you enter the competition and are found to be a “seasoned” performer, any titles/placing awarded will be stripped and you will be disqualified from the contest. We welcome applications for judges though, hit us up!

Examples of a “seasoned” performer: touring/studio vocalists of more than two years, voice actors who’ve booked more than two roles with major studios, singers with more than two tracks on Spotify/iTunes, creatives who earn more than $10k/year from their musical artistry.

Examples of performers we want to see apply: YouTube/Twitch/cover artists, singer-songwriters, Vtubers, karaoke lovers, parody enthusiasts, drag performers, people who sing in the car, shower, etc…

 

8) Backing tracks MUST be uploaded to the Super Bitfest Idol crew by Friday, March 4th at 11:59pm Central Time (the night before the event). Your safest bet is to upload it at the same time as your audition. As a back-up option, or if you are hoping to drop in, you may bring it on the day of the event on a USB stick or flash drive with your STAGE NAME written on it. We ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT accept music on any other medium (CDs, iPods, etc). Also, so you don’t end up frozen on stage while we search for the song, please try to make sure it’s the ONLY file on the USB stick so we can find it easily, or make sure it’s the only file in a folder named SUPER BITFEST IDOL. I cannot stress this enough: PLEASE ensure you have uploaded your music to us, or have it on a USB stick or flash drive with your stage name written clearly on it, or you will be unable to perform in the contest.

 

9) You may perform as a solo act or a group. The maximum people allowed in a group is THREE due to the amount of microphones available. Please note that ALL members of the group must take part in all rounds of the contest, or the group will be disqualified. 

 

10) Super BitFest Idol will be handing out Judge’s Notes to the contestants at the end of the Final Round of the competition! If you don’t want to read them, you don’t have to claim them. However, we’ve learned performers often want to improve upon their skills for their next contest, as well as know what they did that worked so they can do more of it; our judges will have the opportunity to give indirect feedback via these sheets.

 

TRYOUTS (VIDEO AUDITIONS)

 

AUDITION & BACKING TRACK UPLOAD LINK: 

https://www.dropbox.com/request/E3ZzPNy7Mxlpvx3aEj5g

 

All tryouts for this competition will take place via pre-recorded video.

 

Auditions are due by Friday, March 4th at Midday (12pm) Central Time. You can also upload your audition video any time before this, whenever it’s ready.

 

For this first round, we only require each contestant to perform one verse and one chorus (or about one minute of their chosen song) — not the entire song.

 

You can record your video anywhere (we recommend a well-lit interior location) provided we can hear your voice(s) clearly over any backing music and can see any performers from at least the waist up. 

 

  • Please save your video as a .mp4 or a .mov file to upload to us.

  • Please save your backing track as a .mp3 or a .wav file to upload to us.

 

Both of these files are to be uploaded to the same Dropbox folder. Feel free to upload your backing track at the same time as your audition.

 

Those proceeding to the Final Round will be e-mailed between 1—4pm the afternoon of Friday, March 4th. Please ensure the e-mail you signed up with is checked around this time. If you are not proceeding to the live performance round, we will also be e-mailing you to let you know. Provided you signed up using our Form, you will receive an e-mail during this time period to let you know either way.

 

FINAL ROUND (LIVE PERFORMANCE)

 

This is it — so bring your A-Game! This is where we hit the convention stage and allow everyone to see the incredible vocal and performance talent that Super BitFest has to offer!

 

The time and location of the Final Round for Super BitFest Idol can be found (PLEASE WRITE WHERE THEY CAN FIND IT HERE, THANKS GUYS!!)

 

Contestants who are performing in the Final Round must arrive 20 MINUTES EARLY to check in with host Ciarán Strange and his crew. You may bring a friend or two for moral support, if you need!

 

Contestants must perform the same song they performed for tryouts.

 

Contestants will be expected/allowed to perform their song in its entirety, not just the first part. Each contestant will have up to FIVE (5) MINUTES to perform. After that, the music volume may be faded out if we are running short on time. Discuss this with us beforehand if your performance exceeds five minutes!

 

We encourage you to bring your friends to come along and support you during your performance! Remember that Crowd Response will be part of the Judging process, so having people there to cheer for you will help!

 

HAVE FUN!!! This is the most important rule and part of any Idol contest. We are an all-levels of talent, all-ages, all-inclusive, LGBTQIA+ friendly event — have fun, support your fellow contestants, and make it one to remember!

 

JUDGING & PRIZES

 

The Judges will be scoring each of the entrants up to 20% on five different categories, to give an overall score out of 100. The categories are:

  • OVERALL AESTHETIC: Does your performance/routine suit Super BitFest’s celebrated themes (such as cosplay, anime, comic books, video games, geek culture, music culture, etc)? This is the easiest category to score points in!

  • QUALITY OF VOCALS: How honed your vocal chops are, as well as whether or not you sing with emotion. Make it believable, get into the song you’re performing!

  • USE OF STAGE: Don’t be a statue. Move, use the entire stage area, and make eye-contact with your audience. It’s about the show, not just the sound!

  • PRIDE IN APPEARANCE: How great you look on-stage, whether you bothered to dress up or just threw on a pair of PJ pants and an old tee-shirt (unless that’s the cosplay, of course!). Look your best.

  • RESPONSE OF CROWD: How well did the audience react to what you were doing? Did they love you? Did they laugh at the funny parts, stare during the emotional moments, or were they on their phones? Keep them enthralled to score big points here!

 

Winners will be announced at the finale of the Super Bitfest Idol event, so make sure you stick around until the very end of the performances!

 

CHECKLIST!

All right, that was a LOT of information. Let’s make sure you know the plan…

  • Sign up for Super Bitfest Idol, so we’re expecting your audition!

  • Record your video audition and upload it (deadline: Midday, 3/4/22).

  • Upload your backing music (deadline: 11:59pm, 3/4/22).

  • QUICK! Check you have your badges for Super Bitfest itself…

  • Check your email to see if you made the Final Round (1–4pm, 3/4/22).

  • Show up 20 minutes before showtime to sign in with the crew!

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

1) During the contest, contestants must remain on the stage at all times. Although we encourage you to use the space provided and move around, due to technical issues with feedbacking and sound difficulties, we do not allow any entrants to leave the stage during their performance. (Fun Fact: Leaving the stage to walk the room during a performance without first checking with the sound crew is a massive faux pas in the industry!)

 

2) Please keep the songs family-friendly. Any swearing or overly lewd/sexual behaviour on-stage will result in disqualification. (Fun Fact: Anything 18+ themed in an all-ages show typically results in all sound being cut by the crew at a pro show!)

 

3) We request that any contestant who brought their music on a USB stick please come to the Judge’s table at the end of the Final Round in order to reclaim them. If you do not, we will not be able to meet you afterwards and will give any remaining USB sticks we have in our possession to the convention’s Lost & Found. 

 

4) Decisions made by Judges are final and non-negotiable. (Fun Fact: Respect the crew, respect the staff, respect the judges!)


5) All prizing is provided by your host/organizer Ciarán Strange and the convention Super BitFest 2022 itself, so please take a moment to thank them for their generous support of this Idol contest and for giving us all a safe, supportive space to do what we love!

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