World Song Contest

The 41st edition of the World Song Contest started in July 2008. 68 entries took part and once again semi finals had to be organized to reduce this number before the final. 30 songs usually qualify for the final, joining those which were directly qualified, to have a final with 35 songs. Usually, the top 10 of each heat of the semi finals qualified, but for the first time in this edition, a jury selected the last three entries, one in each heat, for their originality and how they brought something new to the contest. It was not an easy choice, and as it was a first time, it was decided that the jury could select two songs in each heat. This is why 38 songs finally took part in the final.

South American countries were not lucky in the semi finals as only Venezuela and Chile qualified. Asian entries appeared to be stronger as Indonesia, Japan, China, The Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam qualified, as well as Uzbekistan and Lebanon. Africa was also succesful as among the four African entries of this edition, only Morocco failed to qualify for the final.

The presence of Muse for the United Kingdom and French First Lady Carla Bruni for Monaco were just put in the shadow after China's decision to send the biggest armada ever in WSC (around 60 artists) to perform the Olympic Games song, Beijing Welcomes You. China was not the only country to be represented by a song which speak about the country, or a town, as Belarus celebrated the national day with that kind of song.

The results of this edition were really surprising mainly because the eventual winner would have not qualified under the former rules. Indeed, Japan, was among the six entries the jury picked for the final. Songs which hardly qualify for the final can sometimes achieve a great result in the final, but it never happened one of them won before this edition. Shinda Onna No Ko, performed by Hajime Chitose, finished 12th of heat B in the semi finals with 121 points, was saved by the jury and finally won with 165 points in the final. Japan was followed by Italy and France.

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THE WINNER

Country: Japan
Artist(s): Hajime Chitose
Song: Shinda Onna No Ko

Hajime Chitose (born January 5 1979) is a singer from Japan. She is from Amami Ōshima ‒ one of the Ryūkyū Islands ‒ and sings in a style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. Because of this, it is said that her voice has a relaxing effect that has been observed in electroencephalograms taken from the brains of people listening to her singing. Hajime was recognized as a gifted folk singer at a young age. She won many folk song competitions, released two traditional folk albums on an indie label, and was approached by numerous record labels. However, she turned down these offers, opting instead to study to persue a career as a beautician. An allergic reaction to the chemicals in the products caused her to drop-out of beautician school and seriously consider a musical career. She released two mini-albums under an independent label in 2001. Her first major single, through Epic Records, was Wadatsumi no Ki, in 2002. The single reached the #1 spot on the charts, and sold just under 850,000 units, making it the #3 best selling single of 2002 in Japan, behind only Utada Hikaru's "traveling", and Ayumi Hamasaki's "H". Three months later, she released a brand new single, "Kimi wo Omō". While also very popular, it was not nearly the success that her first single was, although it did help to cement her as a permanent artist. Her first major album, Hainumikaze, followed later in the year. It sold 800,000 copies, charted for 57 weeks, and was the 16th highest selling album of the year. She released 3 more singles before her second major album, Nomad Soul, was released in 2003. Shortly after a concert tour, and the release of a live album and DVD in 2004, Hajime announced her marriage and that she was expecting a child. She miscarried her first child, but soon conceived another. Her daughter was born on January 20 2005. She also announced she would be taking time away from the music scene to focus on her family. However, in November of 2005, she returned with the single "Kataritsugu Koto", the ending theme for the anime BLOOD+. The single was a hit, reaching #12 on the Oricon charts. She followed this success with her next come-back single, "Haru no Katami", the ending theme for the anime AYAKASHI - Japanese Classic Horror. This single sold 6 050 copies in its first week, and remained on the charts for 7 weeks total. A third single was released before her next album. The single, "Ao no Requiem", was the theme song for the Studio GAGA film Hatsukoi. It featured 1 extra track, and charted for 3 weeks. The following week, Hajime released her third original major album, Hanadairo. The album was available in both a regular edition, and a limited edition. The limited edition featured a 13th track, "Shinda Onna no Ko", as well as a DVD containing the music videos for "Kataritsugu Koto", and "Haru no Katami". Hajime released her first single since "Ao no Requiem" on August 22 2007, entitled "Anata ga Koko ni Nite Hoshii / Miyori no Mori". This single reached #33 on Oricon, charted two weeks, and sold a total of 8,419 copies. It was preceeded by Hotaru Boshi, released July 2 2008, which has so far sold just over 1 000 copies. Hajime's latest album and first in over two years, Cassini, was released 16 July 2008, reaching #11 on the Oricon daily album chart on its first day of sales. She came back in 2010 with two covers albums, "Orient" and "Occident".