OTAKU IDOL 2011 — Rules for Entry

Welcome to Otaku Idol 2011!

GENERAL RULES

1. All contestants must be 16 years of age or older, Submissions must be on audio CDs, MP3 or WAV formats only.
2. Submissions should be by Internet (email preferred, AIM accepted as well.)

“DEMO TAPE” GUIDELINES

1. All songs must be in Japanese, or other East Asian language. No songs, even of East Asian origin may be performed in English. Intermittent English is fine, but the primary language should be Japanese (Chinese, Korean etc.)
   
   In terms of what style you should use to record your demo song, please refer to our list of contest rounds. You should submit a song of you singing to either a song from an anime, a song by a Jpop/Jrock singer/band, or a song from a video game or based on a video game (must have Japanese or East Asian language lyrics)
2. Otaku Idol is not responsible for providing you with music for your submission. CDs with karaoke tracks may be obtained from such retailers as CDJapan, YesAsia, Amazon Japan and many others, while MIDI files can be obtained from sites like Yamaha’s Music-Eclub (Japanese only). The listing of these retailers does not constitute in any way an endorsement by Otakorp Inc, and are merely intended as a resource. Please do not post to the Otakon forum or mailing lists requesting MP3s or links to illegal download sites.
3. A-cappella is acceptable.
4. Internet submissions must be submitted no later than May 15th, 2011. No internet submissions will be accepted after that date.
5. An FAQ for how to record your demo song will be included with these guidelines.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

When you are ready to submit your demo song, email it to otakuidol@otakon.org. Make sure to include your name, age, song name, original singer of the song, and the link to the song you are submitting (preferred) or have the song attached to the email.

The best way to submit your song using a link is to use a free service like Rapid Share (http://www.rapidshare.de) or your own personal web space so that no one has to worry about clogging email boxes. Once you receive the link that has your song linked to it, email the URL to otakuidol@otakon.org., along with your submission info.

You may also send your demo songs to Otaku Idol via AIM, however, contact me first via email or PM on the Otakon BBS, and then I’ll get back to you on whom to send your song to. PM me at Shadowvash04 on the BBS.

SUBMISSION JUDGING:

1. Our panel of judges, all of whom are from many different musical disciplines, will listen to all of the entries, and each judge will vote on whether or not to pass the submission to the next round. From there, the votes will be compared, and we choose who our 10 contestants are. The decisions of our judging panel are final.
2. Once the 10 contestants are chosen, the 10 finalists will be contacted via email, AIM or PM on the Otakon BBS with further instructions. If you do not receive an email, IM or PM from me after May 20th, 2011, you were not chosen for Otaku Idol 2011.

AT THE CONTEST

Same rules apply for prizes from last year. Due to an increase in our Prize Support this year, we can now have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, so the way we eliminate our contestants has changed a bit. Do not get discouraged if you do not make it to the final round. ALL CONTESTANTS will receive prizes for competing.

Like last year, the categories for songs are as follows:

1. First Round: Contestants need to sing a song from an Anime
   
   Second Round: Contestants who are not eliminated need to sing a song from a J-Pop/Rock group/singer.
   
   Final Round: Contestants who are left need to sing a song of their choice, using either of the categories above or they may choose to sing a song from a video game or based on a video game (i.e. Omoide wa Okkusennman, which uses the Dr. Wily Stage 1 theme from Rock Man 2, look it up on youtube, it’s awesome.) Songs that are acceptable from a video game must still follow the Otaku Idol guidelines i.e. song must be NON-ENGLISH (scattered English is permitted).
2. No lyric sheets are allowed to be used while you are singing on stage.
3. 5 contestants will be eliminated in the first round, 2 in the second, and the remaining 3 will sing for the championship.
4. The Judge’s Panel will eliminate contestants in the first two rounds only, leaving the rest up to the crowd.
5. Contestants will be judged on tone/pitch, stage presence, and overall performance.

If you have any issues, please PM me on the Otakon BBS at Shadowvash04 (preferred) or email me at otakuidol@otakon.org..