Nicolas' Neighbour in the Internatia Song Contest

Nicolas' Neighbour
Member station	BNN
National selection events	Festival di Neighbouria; Aobour Fest; Tamar Fest
Participation summary
Appearances	128
First appearance	ISC 1st
Best result	1st: ISC 40, ISC 124, ISC 127, ISC 136
Worst result	26th SF: ISC 112,

Nicolas' Neighbour (formally Nicolas' Neigbour), often shortened to NN, is one of the eight countries that participated in the very first edition of the Internatia Song Contest. Due to internal struggles the country withdrew from the 2nd edition, and fell into a Civil War soon after. After the War and due to San Monique's persistence to make NN rejoin, the country decided to return for the 7th edition. It has taken part ever since, missing only 2 editons. After a successful return in ISC 7 , where it achieved a third place, Nicolas' Neighbour has seen mixed results. It qualified for the final only 34 out of 57 times, but reached the top 5 seven times. It came close to winning several times, and won the first Semi Final of the 28th edition. After 32 attempts however, it finally managed to win the contest, with the band Delta Rae. Interest in the contest, from both broadcaster and public, remains unexpectedly high, with very stable viewing figures. Most of the acts have been internally chosen, which BNN found the best way to select artists. They were proven right when the winner of the first ever National final, Young Wonder, failed to qualify for the final. For recent editions however, NN has cooperated with RTRVA from Aonach on several joint NF's, called Aobour Fest. NN also participates in another joint-NF, called Tamar Fest, which takes place yearly. Other nations that participated are Kaledonii, Haven and Saint Eva & Lepland, among others. NN took part in a joint NF with Kimmystan and Oalia once too. These NF's have led to great results for NN, as well as bigger interest from the public.

Contestants

Table key

Winner Second place Third place Last place Disqualified Jury qualifier Did not compete

Edition	Artist	Title	Language	Place	Points	Semi	Points
1st	Keri Hilson	"Pretty Girl Rock"	English	7	29	No Semi-Finals
Did not participate from 2nd to 6th edition
7th	KOKIA	"Follow The Nightingale"	Japanese	3	98
8th	Despina Vandi	"Girismata"	Greek	Failed to qualify		12	47
9th	CHVRCHES	"The Mother We Share"	English	12	80	6	70
10th	Sa Dingding	"快乐节"	Chinese	12	76	12	62
11th	Imelda May	"Mayhem"	English	22	44	8	63
12th	Laura Jansen	"Queen Of Elba"	English	18	96	8	70
13th	The Killers	"Runaways	English	18	85	11	60
14th	Mads Langer	"Overgir Mig Langsomt"	Danish	24	56	9	75
15th	Besa Kokedhima	"Kalorësi i natës"	Albanian	Failed to qualify		16	49
16th	Eva & The Heartmaker	"Signals"	English	21	72	5	84
17th	Kalafina	"Aria"	Japanese	8	123	2	102
18th	Mø	"Pilgrim"	English	Failed to qualify		22	41
19th	Ilse Delange	"Just Kids"	English	Failed to qualify		17	38
20th	Did Not Compete
21st	Young Wonder	"To You"	English	Failed to qualify		22	39
22nd	Janna	"Sä Et Ole Hullu"	Finnish	Failed to qualify		14	52
23rd	Highasakite	"Leaving No Traces"	English	3	142	2	92
24th	Alan	"Ode To The Himalaya"	Chinese	23	78	10	61
25th	HAIM	"The Wire"	English	Failed to qualify		17	48
26th	/ Andru Donalds & Eugenia Vlasova	"Wind Of Hope"	English	Failed to qualify		19	51
27th	Vetusta Morla	"Fuego"	Spanish	Failed to qualify		25	18
28th	Sheppard	"Geronimo"	English	5	161	1	93
29th	Marlene	"Indian Summer"	English	15	120	2	98
30th	Jenifer	"Sur Le Fil"	French	2	153	9	65
31st	Epica	"Tides Of Time"	English	17	95	6	70
32nd	Nabiha	"Animals"	English	Failed to qualify		14	51
33rd	Shiri Maimon	"Kshehalachta"	Hebrew	23	82	12	59
34th	Selah Sue	"Reason"	English	Failed to qualify		20	45
35th	Did Not Compete
36th	Sufjan Stevens	"Death With Dignity"	English	27	69	8	69
37th	Annalisa	"Vincerò"	Italian	Failed to qualify		15	51
38th	Florence + The Machine	"Queen of Peace"	English	10	119	10	66
39th	Deborah Iurato	"Da Sola"	Italian	Failed to qualify		19	42
40th	Delta Rae	"Chasing Twisters"	English	1	165	1	98
41st	CHVRCHES	"Leave A Trace"	English	16	104	12	50
42nd	The Piano Guys	"Beethoven's 5 Secrets"	Instrumental	12	121	Host Country
43rd	Lisa Nilsson & Joakim Berg	"Innan Vi Faller"	Swedish	12	112	10	68
44th	Kate Boy	"Midnight Sun"	English	Failed to qualify		18	49
45th	Alda	"Heim"	Icelandic	Failed to qualify		19	42
46th	St. Lucia	"Rescue me"	English	Failed to qualify		24	31
47th	Kristian Kristensen	"Kan Du Lære Mæ?"	Norwegian	Failed to qualify		17	48
48th	Highasakite	"Someone Who'll Get It"	English	17	98	9	71
49th	The Lumineers	"Sleep On The Floor"	English	Failed to qualify		23	30
50th	Joe Hisaishi	"The Legend of Ashitaka Theme"	Instrumental	8	135	7	78
51st	Démira	"Fountain"	English	Failed to qualify		17	49
52nd	Ingrid Michaelson	"Light Me Up"	English	Failed to qualify		18	46
53rd	The Naked and Famous	"Higher"	English	2	167	5	79
54th	Agnes Obel	"Familiar"	English	5	152	3	91
55th	Lisa Hannigan	"What'll I Do"	English	Failed to qualify		21	41
56th	Kensington	"Do I Ever"	English	14	114	2	89
57th	Sa Ding Ding	"自由行走的花"	Chinese	13	105	9	74
58th	LP	"Tokyo Sunrise"	English	20	100	8	70
59th	SAVEUS	"Levitate Me"	English	23	87	7	66
60th	Lisa Miskovsky	"Got A Friend"	English	21	90	6	75
61st	Thomas Azier	"Gold"	English	15	102	9	63
62nd	Miss Li	"Aqualung"	English	2	171	4	85
63rd	London Grammar	"Bones of Ribbon"	English	Failed to qualify		19	50
64th	Betsy	"Little White Lies"	English	19	95	9	72
65th	Sanni	"Kelpaat Kelle Vaan"	Finnish	9	132	4	81
66th	Tokio Meyers	"Bloodstream"	English	20	106	4	77
67th	Did Not Compete
68th	Aimer	"ONE"	Japanese/English	Failed to qualify		25	28
69th	ODESZA	"A Moment Apart"	English	2	149	1	96
70th	Ionnalee	"GONE"	English	7	131	4	79
71st	Wildwood Kin	"Run"	English	Failed to qualify		25	24
72nd	Miriam Bryant	"Black Car"	English	2	158	1	106
73rd	Nolwenn Leroy	"Cassé"	French	20	96	9	70
74th	Sheppard	"Coming Home"	English	6	142	8	75
75th	Panic! at the Disco	"Dancing's Not a Crime"	English	Failed to qualify		21	31
76th	Aöme	"Mille Couronnes"	French	19	102	4	86
77th	Dixie Chicks	"Not Ready To Make Nice"	English	4	165	1	94
78th	ZAZ	"Qué Vendrá"	French	22	91	6	81
79th	Bryde	"To Be Brave"	English	Failed to qualify		13	59
80th	Talos	"The Light Upon Us"	English	Failed to qualify		14	56
81st	Malika Ayane	"Ricomincio Da Qui"	Italian	Failed to qualify		13	57
82nd	Yola	"Faraway Look"	English	Failed to qualify		15	58
83rd	Lea Rue	"Watching You"	English	5	157	3	90
84th	Raign	"Now I Can Fly"	English	26	70	8	76
85th	Sam Fender	"Hypersonic Missiles"	English	Failed to qualify		18	48
86th	Did Not Compete
87th	Lola Marsh	"Echoes"	English	3	171	1	104
88th	Lauran Daigle	"You Say"	English	2	156	1	96
89th	Bill Whelan	"Riverdance"	English	2	140	10	69
90th	Lilly Among Clouds	"Closeness"	English	6	131	3	83
91st	Julie Bergan	"Bored"	English	18	104	6	77
92nd	Suzanne Vega	"Luca"	English	10	123	2	88
93rd	Lilla Vargen	"Why Wait"	English	Failed to qualify		23	33
94th	The Killers	"Caution"	English	Failed to qualify		21	49
95th	IBE	"Perfect Storm"	English	Failed to qualify		25	29
96th	Myrkur	"Ella"	Danish	7	136	1	101
97th	Last Night On Earth	"Dancing My Tears Away"	English	Failed to qualify		14	56
98th	Circle 9 & Hi Chinese Orchestra & Thousand Fingers	"權御天下"	Chinese	27	80	7	75
99th	Roosevelt	"Sign"	English	Failed to qualify		20	36
100th	Nothing But Thieves	"Impossible" (orchestral version)	English	9	129	7	67
101st	Kovacs	"Mata Hari"	English	Failed to qualify		14	50
102nd	Karla Grunewaldt	"Ahora Es Tiempo"	Spanish	9	134	1	90
103rd	Отава ё	"Ой, Дуся, ой, Маруся"	Russian	Failed to qualify		13	59
104th	Grace Mitchell	"NOW"	English	12	129	8	68
105th	Sofi Tukker	"House Arrest"	English	14	119	13	57
106th	Purple Disco Machine ft. Sophie and the Giants	"Hypnotized"	English	4	144	6	78
107th	Did Not Compete
108th	Rozalén	"Y Busqué"	Spanish	16	104	4	78
109th	Suzane	"Il est où le SAV?"	French	Failed to qualify		15	56
110th	Joe Hisaishi	"Merry-Go-Around of Life"	Instrumental	4	155	6	80
111th	Bazart	"Denk Maar Niet Aan Morgen"	Dutch	Failed to qualify		24	34
112th	Miss Li	"Tidsmaskin"	Swedish	Failed to qualify		26	31
113th	Alba August	"Killing Time"	English	5	155	7	69
114th	Florrie	"Street Lights"	English	Failed to qualify		14	57
115th	Moyka	"When"	English	11	123	5	78
116th	S10	"Maria"	Dutch	Failed to qualify		22	44
117th	LP	"Cling To Me"	English	Failed to qualify		19	46
118th	Did Not Compete
119th	Dorothy	"Black Sheep"	English	18	105	7	68
120th	Kawala	"Ticket to Ride"	English	Failed to qualify		25	19
121th	Highasakite	"God Don't Leave Me"	English	12	116	5	73
122nd	Clara Luciani	"Respire Encore"	French	13	114	6	78
123rd	Michelle Ullestad	"Emelie"	Norwegian	Failed to qualify		23	37
124th	Jessie Ware	"Free Yourself"	English	1	204	4	85
125th	Saveus	"Rainman"	English	13	125	12	54
126th	Haevn	"Trade It For The Night"	English	16	113	Host Country
127th	Benjamin	"N-Y-T"	Finnish	1	185	1	105
128th	La Zarra	"Tu t'en Iras"	French	8	132	3	91
129th	Natalija Verboten	"Zapoj Slovenija"	Slovene	20	103	Host Country
130th	Lissie	"Night Moves"	English	18	103	8	67
131th	Ella Vos	"Mindreader"	English	20	101	8	65
132nd	Did Not Compete
133th	Altin Gün	"Badi sabah olmadan"	Turkish	20	98	3	90
134th	Georgia	"All Night"	English	Failed to qualify		18	38
135th	Mentissa	"Mamma Mia"	French	20	109	3	77
136th	Swedish House Mafia	"Ray of Solar"	English	1	187	2	83
137th	LOWES	"Bloodstream"	English	9	125	2	96
138th	Jane Birkin	"She Left Home"	Instrumental	27	64	Host Country
139th	Walk of the Earth ft. Linsdey Stirling	"Long Way Home"	English	3	148	5	73
140th	Wende & Froukje	"Troostzoekers"	Dutch

History

Internatia Song Contest 1

Nicolas' Neighbour joined the very first ISC ever held. The song was internally chosen by the broadcaster, who at that time was under strict control of the government. The government decided that the song had to represent a feeling of superiority and unity, in line with a far bigger proppaganda program. The Song "Pretty Girl Rock", by Keri Hilson, was chosen. It was made into NN's national anthem, especially beacuse of the sentence: "Dont hate me because I'm Beautiful", which had a double meaning. It intended to tell the people of NN how pretty they were, and at the same time other countries to not judge the political system in NN. After the Revolution the song was abandoned, and Keri became anonymous. NN takes pride in the fact that they attended the first ISC edition, however.

Internatia Song Contest 7-21

After ISC 1 NN descended into civil war and did not participate for a long time in ISC. It was San Monique that convinced the reborn country to take part in ISC 7. Non other than Kokia, national legend, opted to go for NN and BNN, Broadcaster of NN, did not doubt for a second. Kokia had been at the top of the Music industry for over a decade, but her fame grew even bigger after the revolution. It was announced that she would represent NN with her song "Follow The Nightingale". Kokia achieved a 3rd place for NN, which resulted in mass crowds celebrating on the streets and a welcome ceremony for Kokia.

For ISC 8, BNN selected Despina Vandi internally. Despina comes from the southern province of Azubiwa, known for its folk music, where she is a big star. The song selected is called "Girismata". She did not manage to qualify. After the failure at ISC 8 BNN decided to take a different approach and selected young electro band CHVRCHES to participate in the ISC. The song was internally chosen as well, and turned out to be "The Mother We Share".

For ISC 10 Sa DingDing was chosen with the song "Xi Carnival". This is actually and old folk song, which has been around for ages and comes from the city of Xi. The city of Xi is the oldest city in NN and has a very big and old cultural history. The biggest anual event is the Xi Carnival, a festival which last 6 days and which is celebrated throughout the country. "Xi carnival" represents traditional Neighbourian music at its best. Expectations for Sa DingDing were huge, so her 12th place was a bit of a letdown, and BNN decided to not send huge stars again to the ISC. A variety of artists were sent, and NN managed to qualify 4 more times in a row for the final. Subsequently those entries ended at the bottom of the scoreboard, to the broadcasters' disappointment. It wasn't until ISC 17, when the the broadcaster picked the classy Kalafina trio to represent the country, that success was finally achieved again. After 10 editions the country was back in the top 10 again.

This succes did not last long though. In the two subsequent contests NN failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 17th and 23rd place, its worst results ever in the contest. BNN, thereafter decided to take a break from the contest, withdrawing from the 20th edition, in order to reinvent themselves and come up with a good scoring formula. After closely observing other country election procedures, BNN decided to hold an National Final for the fist time ever. BNN announced that the official name of NF would be the Festival di Neighbouria. It further announced that 5 artists would take part, each with one song. The winner would be decided by the Neighbourian Jury and any guest juries that would vote. In the end 12 guest juries voted, making a total of 13 jury votes. In the end Young Wonder was declared the winner, with a small margin over 2nd-placer Burhan G. As such, Young Wonder was sent to the ISC, while it was later announced that Burhan G would participate in ISSC 11.

**Festival di Neighbouria**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Burhan G	"Kalder Mig Hjem"	Danish	2nd	84
2	Young Wonder	"To You"	English	1st	88
3	Claudia Debreij	"Mag Ik Dan Bij Jou"	Dutch	5th	66
4	Rasmus Seebach	"Olivia"	Danish	4th	74
5	Damien Rice	"9 Crimes"	English	3rd	78

At the ISC, Young Wonder did not manage to reach the final, prompting BNN to get rid of the National Final immediately.

Internatia Song Contest 22-30

For ISC 22, singer Janna was selected. Although she did not manage to qualify, her song received lots of support and the final results showed that Janna was very close to qualifying to the final. This gave BNN hope, yet it had not qualified for the final 4 times in a row now. Relieve finally came with the young indie band Highasakite. Not only did they bring NN to the final, they achieved a 3rd place, with 128 points, the best result of the country in the contest so far, being only 13 points away from actually winning. For ISC 24, BNN relied on the traditional music of NN once again, sending Alan with a classic ethnic ballad. Alan surprised friend and foe be qualifying to the ISC final. For ISC 25 the Indie girl trio HAIM was selected, after impressing a representative of BNN at a live concert, yet they were not able to qualify.

After an announcement for more cooperation on the national level between Aonach and NN, BNN accepted an invitation by RTVRA to participate in a joint NF. Although hesitant at first due to the bad result achieved by the previous NF winner, BNN saw an oppurtunity to profile itself more on the global field, as well as being able to host a bigger production. 4 artists were sent to Laírge, Aonach, to fight for a ticket to Yottoban in the very first Aobour Fest. In the end Andru Donalds & Evgenia Vlasova were picked for NN, while Aonach won the overall NF.

**Aobour Fest 1**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Linnea Henriksson	"Min Stad"	Swedish	7th	68
2	Elena Gheorghe	"De Neinlocuit"	Romanian	5th	72
3	The Common Linnets	"Lovers And Liars"	English	3rd	85
4	Molly Sandén	"Spread A Little Light"	English	6th	69
5	Árstíðir	" Ljóð Í Sand"	Icelandic	4th	75
6	Anna Tsuchiya	"Rose"	English	8th	62
7	Andru Donalds & Evgenia Vlasova	"Wind Of Hope"	English	2nd	93
8	Laura Jansen & Tom Chaplin	"Same Heart"	English	1st	100

At the ISC, the duo did not manage to reach the final, much to the country's disappointment. The cooperation between RTVRA was deemed a success though and plans for more Joint NF's were made already.

Over the summer, Vetusta Morla, coming from the ethnically different Azubiwa, scored a monster hit with their album "Deriva". BNN, impressed with their succes and hungry for some good results again contracted Vetusta Morla to go to ISC. They were given free pick to choose the song and choose "Fuego". Although the single became platinum within no-time in NN, Vetusta Morla failed to make any impression at the Semi-final, getting NN's worst placing yet. BNN however, used the same method to select the artist for ISC 28, the band Sheppard, who, according to BNN, had more accesable songs. Though the Neighbourian public was sceptical about their participation, Sheppard finally brought NN back into the ISC final, even achieving the highest amount of points yet and within 3 points of the victory.

For ISC 29, BNN hosted the second Aobour Fest. This time held in Nan'ji, NN, 8 songs again battled for a ticket to ISC and the victory. This time NN was more succesful. grabbing 1st and 2nd place in the NF. Marlene was selected to go to Kosma, just in front of Hannah Pakarinen.

**Aobour Fest 2**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	2ne1	"Come Back"	Korean	5th	69
2	MØ	""Walk This Way"	English	7th	63
3	Hannah Pakarinen	"Go Go"	English	2nd	80
4	Marlene	"Indian Summer"	English	1st	82
5	The Coronas	"All The Others"	English	8th	58
6	Kim-Lian	"Garden Of Love"	English	3rd	79
7	Inna Voronova	"Ty Ne Moj""	Ukranian	6th	64
8	Natalie	"Nello Spechhio"	Italian	4th	74

Marlene achieved as second place in the Semi Final, but could not follow up that great result in the Final were it only ended 15th. Due to the success of the joint NF's of Aonach and NN, BNN came up with the idea to use this format on a bigger scale. 4 befriended broadcasters were invited for a so-called super-NF (RTK, RTVA, HBC & ITVR). Response from all broadcasters was very positive and it was decided to hold a joint NF for ISC 30 with 5 countries. BNN, being a small broadcaster itself, happily passed the hosting over to RTK from Kaledonii, who hosted the NF in the city of Tamar.

**Tamar Fest 1**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	M83	"Midnight City"	English	5th	92
2	Gabrielle Aplin	"Salvation"	English	4th	100
3	Shawn Mendes	"Life Of The Party"	English	6th	54
4	Brigitte Boisjoli	"Mes Jambes à Ton Cou"	French	9th	36
5	Stina Girs	"Mä tahdon tietää mitä rakkaus on"	Finnish	3rd	102
6	Poe	"Haunted"	English	8th	40
7	Zhana Bergendorff	"Samuray"	Bulgarian	1st	112
8	Sunidhi Chauhan	"Aaja Nachle"	Hindi	7th	42
9	Jenifer	"Sur Le Fil"	French	2nd	102
10	Kensington	"War"	English	10th	34

A total of 17 countries voted. Jenifer ended in a very respectable 2nd place, on 10 points from the winner from Kaledonii. Kensington fared much worse and ended last in the NF. Obviously, Jenifer won the right to go to ISC 30. After some concerns about their potential flop at ISCC, BNN still granted Kensington the right to go to ISSC, as "ISSC isn't as much about success as about just participating", according to sources in BNN. At ISC, Jenifer surprised friend and foe by grabbing the second place, just a couple of points short of the victory.

Internatia Song Contest 31-40

For the next two ISC's, BNN selected their candidate internally. For ISC 31, symphonic rock band Epica were chosen, who easily qualified and reached a respectable 17th place. This was in line with BNN's expectations, who wanted to show the musical diversity of NN in the ISC. For ISC 32, the choice fell on Nabiha, a strong vocalist, with her song "Anmials", which is a non-conventional pop-song. Sadly, Nabiha ended up 14th in the Semi, 2 places short of qualification to the final.

ISC 33 marked the return of Aobour Fest, the 3rd edition of this Joint National Final. Rules remained the same so 4 artists went to Lairge, Aonach, to battle against 4 Aonachian acts for the title. 11 nations from all over Internatia voted and gave us the following the results.

**Aobour Fest 3**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Shiri Maimon	"Kshehalachta"	Hebrew	1st	100
2	Kent	"La Belle Epoque"	Swedish	4th	90
3	Gorgon City	"Unmissable"	English	8th	65
4	Ani Lorak	"Medlenno"	Ukrainian	1st	100
5	Laura Dogett	"Old Faces"	English	7th	66
6	Mando Diao	"Dance With Somebody"	English	6th	78
7	Edurne	"Painkiller"	English	5th	84
8	Jessie Ware	"Champagne Kisses"	English	3rd	96

With Both Ani Lorak & Shiri Maimon receiving exactly 100 points, both singers were crowned as winners of Aobour Fest, and both entries went on to represent their country in the ISC. At ISC, Shiri managed to scrape through the semi-final, and ended in the bottom 5 in the final.

Due to a reorganization, BNN's strategy was unclear for a couple of editions. For ISC 34 a last-minute decision was made. Selah Sue was chosen, based on her newly released album, but was not properly backed by BNN. As as result, Sue failed to make a dent at ISC and stayed in a Semi. Due to the backlash as a result of their messy selection procedure, BNN decided to withdraw for ISC 35 to get their act together. Although under severe pressure, BNN decided to take part in ISC 36. Protests arose when the public learned that the same selection commission that chose Selah Sue would select this artist as well, but BNN would not budge. Indie artist Sufjan Stevens was chosen, who has a style similar to Selah Sue. Against all odds, and with barely any home support, Sufjan managed to make it to the final. However, in the final Sufjan ended dead last, NN's first last place, leading again to complains.

Both the selection commission and the head of organization were fired, and a new team was assembled. They agreed to focus more on pop music, as that was what did well with both the public and at ISC. Although their first attempt was a failure, in ISC 38, NN made the top 10 again with Florence + The Machine. Her good placement brought back interest from both the public and BNN, which had been sliding over the last editions. In order to keep the interest, another edition of Aobour Fest was proposed, and Aonach gladly accepted.

**Aobour Fest 4**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Elle Eyre	"Together"	English	6th	76
2	Smallpools	"Killer Whales"	English	8th	67
3	Dotan	"Hungry"	English	3rd	83
4	Amel Bent	"Délit"	French	1st	89
5	Katarina Grujic	"Lutka"	Serbian	7th	71
6	Deborah Iurato	"Da Sola "	Italian	2nd	84
7	Kodaline	"Honest"	English	4th	77
8	The Asteroids Galaxy Tour	"Heart Attack"	English	5th	77

At ISC 39, Both Deborah and Amelie failed to qualify. Nonetheless, BNN considered Aobour Fest a success in terms of viewing ratings. This remains the last edition of Aobour Fest to date though.

For ISC 40, Delta Rae was chosen, with the song Chasing Twisters. BNN considered a good mix between pop & Indie, and there were even some feelings of having discovered a potential winner. Most of the staff at BNN did not believe the band would do so well though, and aimed at another top 10 placement. Delta Rae easily placed for the final, and rumors began to surface that NN was seen as a frontrunner (although these were mainly spread by Tonallan). Tension started to rise in both BNN & NN, although most remained skeptic. After a very close voting, NN came from behind to claim victory, with 1 point more than Alma Livre.

Internatia Song Contest 41-50

In ISC 41, CHVRCHES, who represented NN in ISC 12, was the first act to represent NN twice. With their song Leave a Trace they were expected to give NN a top-10 placing. The subsequent 16th place thus was a disappointment, as was the 12th place in the Semi-Final. ForISC 42 a second edition of the 5 nation Tamar Fest was planned, but due to winning the 40th edition the entrant for ISC 42 was be selected internally. The selected entrant turned out to be the Piano Guys, who defended the home team with honor and ended on a very respectable 12th place. The second multi-nation NF was again held in Tamar, Kaledonii. 4 nations participated, with Haven dropping out of the NF. Lisa Nilsson & Joakim Berg placed second and won the right to represent NN in Noxus.

**Tamar Fest 2**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Louane	"Nos Secrets"	French	1st	112
2	Kygo ft. Conrad	"Firestone"	English	7th	60
3	UnSun	"Whispers"	English	8th	52
4	Neon Jungle	"Louder"	English	5th	84
5	Kátya Tompos	"Magányos Csosák"	Hungarian	3rd	92
6	Kerli	"Zero Gravity"	English	6th	82
7	Lisa Nilsson & Joakim Berg	"Innan Vi Faller"	Swedish	2nd	104
8	Nargiz	"Ya Ne Tvoya"	Russian	4th	86

Like the Piano Guys in the previous edition, Lisa & Joakim also ended in 12th.

After 4 consecutive good results, BNN were full of confidence about their strategy and were very pleased with the entrants they selected for the upcoming editions. This arrogance would immediately be punished, as NN failed to qualify for the next 4 editions. Kate Boy, Alda and Kristian Kristensen, while all not doing terrible, remained rather unnoticed in their respective semi's. South African artist St. Lucia ISC 46 almost equaled NN's worst result with his very unorthodox synthpop entry.

Desperate for a qualification, BNN turned to an established artist again, sending a returnee for the second time. This time it was Highasakite that were allowed to go again. While they soundly managed to qualify, their final result was a lot worse than the one from their first attempt, ending in a disappointing 17th place. The next two editions reflected the overall lack of structure at BNN . While The Lumineers flopped big time, Joe Hisaishi scored NN their first top-10 result in 10 editions in ISC 50.

Internatia Song Contest 51-60

Indie artist Démira could not live up to expectations in ISC 51 (which came as a suprise to both BNN and several other broadcasters) and ISC-veteran Ingrid Michaelson also remained in the semi. Having qualified only 3 times in 10 editions, BNN was getting desperate for a good result. For ISC 53 once again the multi-nation NF Tamar Fest was used as pre-selection. At this point in time the participating countries decided it had become something of an annual tradition. Haven returned to take part in the NF, while Irdminia had withdrawn from ISC altogether and thus no longer took part. Per BNN' suggestion, they were replaced by Saint Eva & Lepland. BNN caused some controversy during the NF, as it had to change it's entry twice. First it was discovered that a different version of the song "Scarborough Fair" had already taken part (and won) ISC. The replacement entry, "Aya", had also already been entered, by Darkria. On a very short notice the Naked & Famous were appointed to take part.

**Tamar Fest 3**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Kygo ft Julia Michaels	"Cary Me"	English	7th	58
2	SVRNICA	"Meet Me On The Battlefield"	English	9th	52
3	Years & Years	"Meteorite"	English	10th	49
4	Alessia Cara	"Scars To Your Beautiful"	English	6th	60
5	Coldplay	"Hymm For The Weekend" (Seeb Remix)	English	5th	61
6	Alina Eremina	"A Fost o Nebunie"	Romanian	1st	109
7	Naked and Famous	"Higher"	English	2nd	106
8	Gauhar Tas	"Kazagym Aj"	Kazakh	8th	57
9	Pearl Jozefzoon	"Clocks"	English	3rd	98
10	Enya	"Echoes In The Rain"	English	4th	82

3 out of the 5 participants made it to the final. The Naked and Famous did exceptionally well, ending in second place, and scoring even more points than Delta Rae did. This proved to be some kind of turning point for NN. While they had only qualified 3 out of times in the past 10 editions, it would go on to qualify 8 out of 10 times in the next 10 editions, and it had its longest qualification streak to date. The Naked and Famous were followed up by Agnes Obel, who scored another top 5 placing with her haunting song Familiar. While Lisa Hannigan was not able to qualify in the following editon, from ISC 56 all the pieces fell together for NN. It qualified 7 times in a row, all with relative ease. At the same time, none of its entrants managed to make it to the top 10, with most entries being stuck on the lower half of the scoreboard. Among the entrants were Sa DingDing, who represented NN again with an ethnic Chinese song, Kensington, who had once taken part in a NF for NN, LP, Lisa Miskovsky and SAVEUS, who was expected to at least make it to the top 10.

Internatia Song Contest 61-65

Thomas Azier continued this trend by finishing 15th in ISC 61. NN was then invited by Kimmystan and Oalia to take part in a NF for ISC 62, which they gladly accepted. The theme was female pop songs, and each nation would submit three songs. True to form, NN caused a scandal again, after it was discovered that one of it's contestants, Helena Paparizou, had already been selected by Treslend, and could not be persuaded to switch countries. She was consequently replaced by Giusy Ferreri.

**Queens For ISC 62**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Becky G	"Todo Cambio"	Spanish	6th	73
2	Giusy Ferreri	"Partito Adesso"	Italian	7th	69
3	Samantha J	"Baby Love"	English	4th	84
4	Peg Parenevik	"Don't Tell Ma"	English	5th	81
5	Betty Who	"I Love You Always Forever"	English	3rd	87
6	Sandra Lyng ft. Temur	"Bungalow"	Romanian	8th	67
7	Christine and the Queens	"Christine"	English	8th	67
8	Miss Li	"Aqualung"	English	1st	96
9	Léa Paci	"Adolescente Pirate"	French	2nd	90

To its own surprise, NN won this National Final. Out of the three nations, NN also fared best in ISC. Oalia did not make it to the finals, while Kimmystan did not send their selected song, and ended up at the bottom of the scoreboard with their replacement song. NN meanwhile ended at an unexpected second place, shattering their old points record in the process. It felt as the ultimate reward to the broadcaster who after putting in a lot of work, finally managed to get a spectacular result.

Euphoria would not last long though as London Grammar failed to qualify in the following edition, ending a 7-edition qualification streak. Of course the annual Tamar Fest also took place, this time selecting the entries for ISC 64. 4 countries took part, with Aonach sitting out this time. Inviting Tikata as their replacement was discussed, but it was decided that this would be on too short of a notice. It is likely though that they will take part in the future.

**Tamar Fest 4**
Order	Participant	Song	Language	Placing	Points
1	Molly Sandén	"Rygg Mot Rygg"	Swedish	7th	91
2	Taylor Davis	"Fairy Tale Theme"	Instrumental	2nd	125
3	Mew	"Satellites"	English	8th	30
4	Vishtèn	"Corandina"	French	5th	93
5	Arisa	"Controvento"	Italian	6th	91
6	Betsy	"Little White Lies"	English	4th	103
7	Birds of Tokyo	"I'd Go With You Anywhere"	English	1st	127
8	We the Kings ft. Elena Coats	"Sad Song"	English	3rd	110

SEAL smashed the competition and also did really well in ISC, finishing a strong 4th. Kaledonii and NN both qualified, but ended up at the bottom of the scoreboard. Haven, despite a strong showing in the NF, failed to qualify for the final.

For ISC 65, NN almost withdrew due to a lack of funds. At the last minute, Sanni, a fairly unknown singer volunteered to go for NN, paying part of the expenses her self. While this proposal was welcomed by BNN, the public was not enthusiastic about the deal, with some even claiming she paid her way to ISC.

Voting History

Most points given in the Finals
Rank	Country	Points
1	Kaledonii	299
2	Territrius	281
3	Sunetti	267
4	Aonach	229
5	Tikata	201
6	Zephyrus	188
7	Bubblique	182
8	Kimmystan	181
9	Irdminia	176
10	Pen Island	175

Most points received in the Finals
Rank	Country	Points
1	Kaledonii	386
2	Saint Eva & Lepland	329
3	Aonach	321
4	Tikata	297
5	Tonallán	247
6	Dulcet Ebullience	237
7	Grolskira	212
8	Spitzenbergen	210
9	Sunetti	203
10	WL	191

ISC Spinoffs

ISCC

Due to selecting their candidate via internal selection, NN was not able to participate in ISCC. After holding their first National final for ISC 21, BNN started considering participating in ISCC. It was not until edition 10 though, which was hosted by brother nation Aonach, that BNN sent runner-up Burhan G to participate. BNN stated that their intention is to take part in future editions.

Junior Internatia Song Contest

NN participated in the very first JISC, and has taken part in every most editions so far. NN had a very good start in jISC, ending in the top 10 4 out of 5 times, but results started to disappoint in later editions. Because BNN's involvement in other spinoff contests, the partcipation in jISC has become of lesser priority. According to an official BNN statement, there will be only a song sent when a good enough candidate is found. "NN wont participate for the sake of participating." After the result in JISC 9, BNN announced that it will no longer take part in JISC.

ISC Does Eurovision

BNN took part in both Eurovision spin-offs, both times finishing at the bottom of the ranking.

Country	Artist	Song	Place	Points
Nicolas' Neighbour	Iva Zanicchi	"Due grosse lacrime bianche"	18	49
Nicolas' Neighbour	Frida Boccara	"Un Jour, Un Enfant"	31	74

ISC-1

NN joined this contest for the first at the 3rd edition, and has only skipped two editions so far. It is the best watched ISC spin-off in NN, having considerable higher viewing figures then both JISC and ISCC. BNN, therefore has already committed itself to participating in the next 5 editions.

References

Nicolas' Neighbour in the Internatia Song Contest

Contents

Contestants