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Of course we must not forget the TISC anthem. Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Mariah Carey...

But now for the main question. Who will win? The Weeknd or... The Weeknd? Or will the two weekends split votes and hand the victory over to Ireland. We have seen that movie before. Ed Sheeran? Surely not after the Mendes-gate?

Nice Opening. 1,014 ain't that high, but as the highest peak, it is quite respectable compared to some previous European hosts.

Ah yes, the Superheroes and their super-human, untouchable, -esque record. Shed A Tear and Superheroes do have quite a similar sound though. Almost uncanny.

Welp, hopefully there won't be any more system crashes for the weekend.

Funnily enough, going through the Top 40 list, I have realized that I have always awarded either 0 points (3 times, odd years) or 9 points (3 times, even years) to the Annual champions. It's should be an amazing sign for my No. 4 then.

It will be interesting to find out whether any of the projected ranks will come to light. Surely there will be at least one.

FINA already broke the transparency idea. And it does seem like equestrian systems will not come out for a while. Documents from the recent FEI Sports Forum are available here. It's all still pretty much in the proposal stage (in regards to MERs and competition formats).

Pečuh, traditionally the most popular Hungarian destination for our cross-border shoppers. Indeed, I plan to visit Slavonia this Summer. And since I'm doing that, I have been thinking about driving up to Pecs as well.

Don't worry. There is no love lost between Hajduk and me.

I wonder if they are waiting for the qualification systems to be 100% finalized before they publish them on site. Because, if so, then it will be months before all of them come up. FEI for example has not yet decided on the minimum eligibility criteria. They have postponed that decision all the way to November.

Where are They Now? Ninety One Totallympics International Song Contests have always been a great opportunity for lesser known musical genres and sub-genres to emerge. Such is the case with Qazaq pop, or simply Q-Pop. Ninety One have been a true pioneers of the genre, and thanks to the Kazakh team selectors, they have been able to present it at several contests. However, ever since their third participation at the 2020 Annual, the group has gone largely unnoticed on Totallympics. Where are they now? The Pioneers of Q-Pop Ninety One (91) were formed in Almaty in 2014. The group was formed as part of the "K-Top Idols" project, whose objective was to create Kazakhstan's very first "idol group". Upon its formation, the group consisted of five members: Ace, Alec, A.Z., Bala and ZaQ. The name Ninety One was chosen to represent "independence and creative freedom", as it refers to the year when Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union. The group's debut single Aiyptama! was released in September 2015, to an instant success. It lead the charts in Kazakhstan for 20 weeks. The group immediately won over the younger audience, particularly female, and it was also praised for promoting the use of Kazakh language in music. The group however also faced severe backlash, with some claiming they were "corrupting the youth" with non-Kazakh influence. The backlash peaked in 2016, when numerous concerts and performances got cancelled on "public demand", and in some cases, the group themselves were prohibited from entering the concerts' venues. Insults and death threats galored. Despite the backlash however, the Ninety One's fanbase, known as Eaglez, remained loyal and coined a new term to represent the group's musical expression: Q-Pop. Q-Pop is defined as a modern form of Kazakhstani pop music, sung in Kazakh language, which incorporates elements of Western pop, Kazakhstani hip-hop, EDM, R&B and Toi-pop, with heavy influences of K-pop from South Korea as well. Totallympics Debut Ninety One got first selected to compete for Kazakhstan at the 2017 Annual held in Great Britain with Qalai Qaraisyn?, a single from their first extended play Aiyptama. Their debut on Totallympics started off with a bang. A silver medal was received from the very first jury of the day (Indonesia). Unfortunately for the Kazakh fans, this is where the ball stopped rolling, as the group from Almaty only managed to add 12 more points during the remainder of the Grand Final. Notably, a score of 9 points was received from the United States. The final tally of 23 points was enough to place them 33rd out of 35 entrants. Return in Brazil, Croatia Kazakh selectors decided to give Ninety One another go the following year at the Jubilee in Brazil. This time they were set to perform the eye-catchingly titled Ah! Yah! Mah!. They placed 33rd again with 40 points. The participation was deemed a great success however, as the maximum 12 points were scored from the American jury. It was in fact the first gold medal ever awarded to Kazakhstan in TISC history. Additionally, a bronze medal was received from the Croatian jury. Ninety One returned to TISC once again for the 2020 Annual in Croatia, aboard Bari Biled, an activist entry addressing the climate change. They obtained their best result to-date, finishing 31st with 51 points. Tunisian jury awarded Bari Biled with a bronze medal. Where are They Now? Following their third participation at the 2020 Annual, Ninety One's career at TISC has been put on a back-burner, as the Kazakh team selectors have started promoting the rising star Imanbek instead, who made his debut at the 2021 Annual and is set to return later this week in Hungary. As for Ninety One, the group has continued paving the way of Q-Pop. Their latest extended play was released in December 2020, and several non-album singles have followed suit. Encouragingly, the number of Q-Pop acts in Kazakhstan has continued growing at a steady pace. Notably however, Ninety One has since been reduced to just four members, as the rapper A.Z. has decided to quit the group in 2020. Amongst the TISC fans, A.Z. is mostly known for his signature rapping part in Ah! Yah! Mah!. Where are They Now? Kensington

Where are They Now? Kensington While only a handful of artists have had the distinct honor of being able to represent their nation at more than a single occasion, few have managed to leave as much impact in the process as the Dutch rock band Kensington did in their time. During their three equally successful participations, Kensington truly became a household name amongst the TISC fandom. However, following their third and to-date final showing at the 2018 Jubilee, the band has seemingly been removed from the Dutch team selector's radar. Where are they now? The Boys from Utrecht Kensington was formed in Utrecht in 2005. Initially it consisted of singer/guitarist Casper Starreveld, bass player Jan Haker and drummer Lucas Lenselink. Eloi Youssef joined the band the following year, and in due course would become the band's frontman. Their first extended play, the self-produced Kensington EP, got released in 2007 to an instant success. MusicFromNL noted: "The band effortlessly combines different styles and moods into a comprehensive sound. (...) The quartet from Utrecht show musical sophistication on this debut. These five songs exhibit Kensington's prowess, originality and musicality. It is a well-produced, diverse and catchy record." The band hit its first bump on the road when the drummer Lucas Lenselink quit the band at the end of 2007 due to artistic differences. He was to be replaced by Niles Vandenberg. Kensington continued gaining traction though, and soon thereafter started playing support acts for artists such as Razorlight, My Chemical Romance and The Wombats. Their first album Borders got released in 2010, and from then on, Kensington became an omnipresent fixture on the Dutch rock scene. Four more albums followed: Vultures (2012), Rivals (2014), Control (2016) and Time (2019). The latter three would peak at No. 1 in the Netherlands, whilst also getting ranked on the Belgian and Swiss charts. Totallympics Debut Kensington got selected to compete for the Netherlands at the 2015 Annual held in Denmark. They were set to perform War, a single from their second studio album Vultures. The song had enjoyed much success in the Netherlands, peaking at No. 5 domestically, but was largely unknown outside of Benelux. It was a gamble that paid off. Kensington & War placed 10th, scoring 94 points from 14 juries. They were awarded two gold medals, from Brazil and Lithuania, and two silver medals, from France and Ireland. Double Comeback Kensington made their return onto the TISC stage at the 2017 Annual in Great Britain with Do I Ever, a single from their fourth album Control. They placed 10th again, this time with 97 points from 11 juries. The band became a bit of sensation in Algeria and were awarded the maximum 12 points. Ireland and France awarded them silver medals once again, while medals were also received from Bulgaria, Russia and Portugal, whose juror resides in the Netherlands. Curiously, the two juries who awarded the maximum points to War were not as impressed with Do I Ever. Lithuanian jury could only spare five points, while Brazil's praise of Kensington nosedived from 12 to 0 (!!). By this time, Kensington had become a household name on the TISC stage, so it came under no surprise when they received a nod to represent the Netherlands yet again the following year. In fact, their third selection was arguably even anticipated, as Brazil was set to host the 10th edition Jubilee. Kensington in pole position (2018 Annual) Kensington entered with Bridges, another single from Control. It was a dream start to the Grand Final, as they were in fact the leaders after the opening three votes! Was it to be the third time charm? Not quite, but the band produced yet another steady showing and placed 11th with 104 points from 15 juries. Maximum 12 points were received from Portugal, whilst medals also came from Ireland (for the third time), Germany and Norway. France and Lithuania grew visibly tired of the boys from Utrecht and awarded them with null points. Where are they now? Kensington has not made any more inroads at TISC since their third participation in 2018. In fact, their relationship with the Dutch selectors (namely, @heywoodu) hit a bit of a sour note in October 2020, when controversially they were not invited to play a gig at the Dutch-hosted edition. In November 2021, the band dropped a bomb announcing the split with frontman Eloi Youssef. In a joint statement, the band noted: "We are not fighting each other, there is no hate, no conflict, just a difference in vision. Jan, Casper and Niles still want to dedicate their lives to Kensington, Eloi does not, anymore. (...) We don’t know exactly what the future beyond August 2022 will bring. What we do know is that Kensington will not end here: Jan, Casper and Niles will find a new form for this over time. But first and foremost, we will lovingly close this chapter together!" As of today, Kensington are getting ready for their farewell tour with Youssef, which is set to commence May 14 in Scheveningen. The tour will mainly be held in the Netherlands, with a notable stop in Budapest in mid August, a definitive nod to their TISC history. The tour will end with no less than 6 (!) shows in Amsterdan, Ziggo Dome in late August and early September. The last four concerts have already been sold out.

Liechtenstein NITRO NITRA ft. Al Walser - Cold Cold Soul

@heywoodu would know more, but I think this sort of scheme is focused on sweeping the small-time races in Portugal. They purposely choose the most blatant doping methods which would never fly at Tour de France anymore, for example.

South Korea BTS - Butter I know, I know... Not the most original submission. But I have been listening a lot of BTS for the past month or so. I guess Anna Buffini's healthy obsession with the band became slightly contagious this season.

Once again it seems a clean sweep caused such quota reduction.

Portugal got its due 20-something slot. It's a statistical anomaly to say the least.

Fun fact, I don't think we have ever had a fully non-European team. There is a small chance Fehervar Saints break this rule, but yeah, the chance is indeed pretty small.

Meanwhile, I am just waiting for Portugal to be drawn 22nd or something. Like they tend to be again and again.

Great! I will be there to turn the tables as soon as the second session starts.

Decrecen better get ready for some hockey.

Explosions in Tiraspol.... Might need to open up a new thread soon....

I will take South Korea.