2014

Thailand Misses Final for the Fourth Time in a Row; Charles Changes Country to the Philippines!

July 2, 2014 @ 11:17 PM

Bell Nuntita's "Siang Tee Bplian" failed to qualify, making it Thailand's fourth non-qualification in a row! Thailand recently became available in another competition where many participating nations are Asian, so Charles became Thailand's new head of delegation there and decided to change his country in the Sing Out Song Contest to the Philippines. Thailand is one of SOSC's least successful countries and participated 10 times. It finished last twice during its debut in the 4th Edition and also in the 9th Edition. Out of 6 attempts to qualify for the Grand Final, Thailand only qualified once with Tata Young's "My Bloody Valentine," which placed 3rd in both the Semi-Final and Grand Final of SOSC#8. This allowed Thailand to directly qualify for SOSC#9, but as previously mentioned, it got last place. The Philippines's debut entry in SOSC#14 will be selected internally and will be revealed on the "Philippines in SOSC" section of Charles's head of delegation website after SOSC#13 results are released.

Thailand Barely Misses Grand Final; Transgendered Singer for 13th Edition

June 6, 2014 @ 3:05 PM

In SOSC#12, there were two Semi-Finals, so host country, France, was the only automatic qualifier to the Grand Final. Thailand competed in Semi-Final 1 but did not qualify. Thailand and Czech Republic both received 44 Points, but Czech Republic qualified after following tie-breaker rules, so Thailand barely missed the Grand Final. Individual voting for the Semi-Finals have not yet been released. Thailand finished in 13th Place. Denmark won with Shaya's "Love Me." This is Denmark's second victory in the Sing Out Song Contest.

With Conchita Wurst's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest last month, Thailand has chosen transgendered singer, Bell Nuntita, to perform her 2011 single, "Siang Tee Bplian" for the 13th Edition that will be held in Denmark. Nuntita's audition for Thailand's Got Talent in 2011 became viral, and she ended up being one of the Top 6 finalists. She impressed with her ability to sing in both feminine and masculine voices. 

Dan, the Swedish head of delegation, decided to hold a National Final and has invited the other heads of delegations to vote. 8 songs are competing. Charles will send Thailand's votes soon.

Thailand Chooses Nichkhun to Sing English Song for SOSC#12

May 7, 2014 @ 12:08 PM

Since Thailand was not in the Top 11 rankings of the 11th Edition of the Sing Out Song Contest, it must compete in the Semi-Final once again. The 12th Edition will be held in France, and Thailand has chosen Nichkhun to sing "Let It Rain." This is the second time in a row that Thailand will have an English language entry and third overall in its participation history. Despite not qualifying in the previous edition with an English song, Thailand's most successful entry was in English, so Charles hopes this strategy will work in Thailand's favor. Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States to Thai-Chinese parents. He moved and studied in Thailand, New Zealand, and back to the United States. He was scouted and successfully auditioned for the Korean JYP Entertainment. After intense training, Nichkhun made his debut in 2008 as a member of the Korean boy band, 2PM. "Let It Rain" is a bonus track on 2PM's 2013 album, Legend of 2PM.

Results of 10th and 11th Editions

May 3, 2014 @ 7:36 PM

Spain won the 10th Edition with Brequette's "Más (Run)." Thailand's Kaothip Tidadin finished second to last in the Semi-Final with 19 Points: 6 Points from Canada and Czech Republic, 3 Points from Chile, and 2 Points from Germany and Spain. Colombia did not vote in the Semi-Final, so its Semi-Final entry was disqualified. Slovenia voted in the Semi-Final but not in the Grand Final, but its entry did not qualify, so it was not disqualified.

Palmy & Hugo, unfortunately, did not qualify for the Grand Final of SOSC#11, making it Thailand's second non-qualification in a row and third overall. In the Semi-Final, Thailand received 60 Points with a 17th Place ranking. Although a less than stellar result, Charles is happy that Thailand did not end up last. The French delegation took the victory with "Je Te Donne" by Leslie Bourgoin and Ivyrise. 

Since the Eurovision Song Contest is taking place this week, the deadline for 12th Edition entries has been set for Sunday, May 11, the day after the Grand Final, so that the heads of delegations can enjoy the show. The French host city and next Thai entry for SOSC#12 will be revealed in a couple of days.

Second Non-Qualification; Second English Song for Thailand in SOSC#11

March 26, 2014 @ 4:45 PM

Unfortunately, Thailand's first look tung entry did not make it to the Grand Final of the 10th Edition in Oslo, Norway. This is Thailand's second non-qualification since the Sing Out Song Contest went back to the Semi-Final format in the 7th Edition. Voting in the Grand Final of SOSC#10 ends on Sunday, March 30. 

With several announcements that new heads of delegations would debut in SOSC#11, Charles knew that this meant that Thailand's chances of qualifying would be even more difficult. So far, Thailand's only successful entry was in English, so Charles searched and found "Big Mountain" by Palmy & Hugo to be Thailand's second English language entry. The song was used to promote the 2012 Big Mountain Music Festival, which is Thailand's biggest outdoor music festival. Palmy (Eve Pancharoen) is of Thai and Belgian descent from Bangkok but spent five years in Australia before making her professional singing debut in Thailand in 2001. She has won several awards, including Best Female Artist. Charles previously sent her to the 19th Edition of the now inactive Planet Earth Song Contest where she placed 20th with her song, "Kit Maak." Hugo Chakrabongse Levy, whose Thai name is Chulachak Chakrabongse, was born in London to a British father and Thai-English mother but was raised in Thailand. He is the great great grandson of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who ruled Siam (Thailand's former name) from 1868-1910. Hugo is currently based in New York City under Jay-Z's record label, Roc Nation.

Back to Horrible Results; Look Tung Song for SOSC#10

March 4, 2014 @ 12:39 AM

As previously reported, there were some withdrawals in the 9th Edition that changed some of the automatic qualifiers to the Grand Final. Before this edition started, Finland, who was supposed to be a directly qualified country, withdrew also, so its spot was given to Italy, who finished in 13th Place in SOSC#8. Canada eventually withdrew as well. Norway's Carina Dahl with "Not Like the Others" won with 128 Points. It was Charles's second favorite song in the Semi-Final and third favorite in the Grand Final. Thailand's Yayaying got last place, which is the second time Thailand finished at the bottom of the scoreboard. Thailand received 29 Points: 10 Points from Sweden, 8 Points from Turkey, 5 Points from Norway, 2 Points from Germany and Croatia, and 1 Point from China and Estonia. Italy voted in the Grand Final but did not in the Semi-Final, so its directly qualified song was disqualified.   

The 10th Edition will be in Oslo, Norway, and several countries will withdraw, debut, and return. Denmark again organized a National Final but with several rounds: 2 Semi-Finals, Second Chance, and Grand Final. Thailand voted in the previous rounds and will send its votes for the Grand Final soon. The Danish entry will be revealed this Saturday, March 8, 2014. Kaothip Tidadin from the northeastern province, Amnat Charoen, will sing for Thailand with her 2012 single, "O.K. Bor Aai." This is the first look tung Thai entry. Look tung (also commonly spelled luk thung or look toong) means "child/children of the fields" and is a genre of music that usually describes the lives of the rural poor people. It is sometimes referred to as Thai country music. "O.K Bor Aai" was suggested by Charles's friend, Andy, who describes it as a "catchy tune" and "uniquely Thai."

Yayaying for 9th Edition

January 28, 2014 @ 6:29 PM

Le Zénith de Toulouse in Toulouse, France is the venue/host city of the 9th Edition of the Sing Out Song Contest. Thailand is directly qualified to the Grand Final, since it was in the Top 10 of the previous edition. Malaysia was in the Top 10 as well but withdrew this edition, so its place in the upcoming Grand Final is supposed to go to the country that finished in 11th Place, which was the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands also withdrew, so its spot will be taken by Greece, which finished in 12th Place. Chile also decided to withdraw. Yayaying will perform "Dayng Dayng Dayng" for Thailand. The song was a special 2013 single used to promote Nivea's In-Shower Intensive Skin Conditioner and means "Bounce Bounce Bounce." Yayaying's full name is Rhatha Phongam and her mother, Noi Phongam, was a popular comedic actress. Yayaying started her singing career when she was 16 years old. She played the prostitute, Mai, in the 2013 movie, Only God Forgives, which starred Ryan Gosling.

The next Danish representative is Quadron with "Hey Love, " which was Charles's favorite song in the Danish National Final for SOSC#9. The voting consisted of a combined Danish jury and televoting as well as points from the delegations/juries of Thailand, Finland, Slovenia, France, the Netherlands, South Korea, Norway, and Sweden.

Tata Young Brings Thailand's Best Result

January 26, 2014 @ 12:06 AM

After four horrible results, Thailand finally achieved its best result ever in the Sing Out Song Contest. The voting results were exciting as Thailand was mostly in the lead but eventually lost to France and the United States and took home the bronze medal in the Grand Final of SOSC#8. Thailand received the maximum 12 Points from Denmark and Finland; 10 Points from Canada, South Korea, and South Africa; 8 Points from Hungary and Romania; 7 Points from Germany, Ireland, and Spain; 6 Points from Chile; 5 Points from Estonia and Malaysia; 3 Points from China; 2 Points from the United Kingdom; 1 Point from France and Sweden. Twenty-two countries voted for France and nineteen countries voted for the United States and both received 123 Points each. Since more countries voted for France, it was declared the winner. The winning song was "Speed of Light (L'amour et les Étoiles)" by Baptiste Giabiconi, which was Charles's second favorite song in the Grand Final. This is France's second win in SOSC. Thailand also finished third in the Semi-Final.

The search is on for the next Thai representative. Charles voted in the Danish National Final for SOSC#9 after being invited by James. Results are scheduled to be revealed tomorrow.