OMSC 13

Online Music Song Contest 13, often referred to as OMSC 13, was the thirteenth edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Odessa, after Ukraine won the previous edition of the contest.

The Semi-Finals of OMSC 13 occured on the 9ᵗʰ May 2021 while the Final occured on the 16ᵗʰ May 2021. Forty-two countries participated in the thirteenth contest, under the slogan “Sounds of Dreams!”.

Iceland won the contest with the song "Tribalist (Get To Know)", sung entirely in English, receving a total of 131 points. Glowie and iLL BLU became the first collaboration to win the competition. Israel finished in second place, with Germany finishing in third place. They were followed by Russia, which reached the fourth place and Denmark which reached the fifth place.

Location
After it's victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster UA:PBC chose to host the contest in the third most populous city of Ukraine, Odessa. Odessa is located on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. It has a population of around 1,000,000 inhabitants and stands on a shallow indentation of the Black Sea coast at a point approximately 30 kilometers north of the Dniester River estuary and about 440 kilometers south of Kyiv.

Before the Tsarist establishment of Odessa, an ancient Greek settlement existed at its location. A more recent Tatar settlement was also founded at the location by Hacı I Giray, the Khan of Crimea in 1440 that was named after him as Hacibey or Khadjibey. After a period of Lithuanian Grand Duchy control, Hacibey and surroundings became part of the domain of the Ottomans in 1529 and remained there until the empire's defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1792.

In 1794, the city of Odessa was founded by a decree of the Russian empress Catherine the Great. From 1819 to 1858, Odessa was a free port—a porto-franco. During the Soviet period, it was the most important port of trade in the Soviet Union and a Soviet naval base. On the 1ˢᵗ January 2000, the Quarantine Pier at Odessa Commercial Sea Port was declared a free port and free economic zone for a period of 25 years.

During the 19ᵗʰ century, Odessa was the fourth largest city of Imperial Russia, after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Warsaw. Its historical architecture has a style more Mediterranean than Russian, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles. Some buildings are built in a mixture of different styles, including Art Nouveau, Renaissance and Classicist.

Nowadays Odessa is a major tourism center, seaport and transport hub. It is also the administrative center of the Odessa Raion and Odessa Oblast, as well a multiethnic cultural center. Odessa is sometimes called the "pearl of the Black Sea", the "South Capital" (under the Russian Empire and Soviet Union), and "Southern Palmyra". The city is a warm-water port. The city of Odessa hosts both the Port of Odessa and Port Yuzhne, a significant oil terminal situated in the city's suburbs. Another notable port, Chornomorsk, is located in the same oblast, to the south-west of Odessa. Together they represent a major transport hub integrating with railways. Odessa's oil and chemical processing facilities are connected to Russian and European networks by strategic pipelines.

Participants


Forty-two countries participated in the thirteenth edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Åland Islands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine), thirteen Asian countries (Armenia, Bangladesh, China, Georgia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, North Korea, Oman, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand), six American countries (Brazil, Canada, Greenland, Puerto Rico, United States of America, Venezuela), four Oceanian countries (Australia, Guam, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea) and three African countries (Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa).

In this edition Bangladesh, Iceland, Libya, Mauritius, Mongolia and Oman participated for the first time.

Returning Artists
This edition featured six representatives who had performed previously as lead vocalists for a country in the contest.

Artem Pivovarov represented Ukraine in the previous edition of the contest with his song "No. 1" sung in Russian, which won the contest with 143 points and brought the contest to Odessa. In this occasion, he represented Ukraine again, with his song "Dezhavyu (Дежавю)", sung in Russian again, placing 15ᵗʰ with 73 points.

Oonagh represented Germany in the eighth edition of the contest with her song "Gäa" sung in German and Quenya, which placed 10ᵗʰ out of 37 participating countries with 82 points. In this occasion, she represented Germany again, with her song "Eldamar", sung in German and Quenya, achieving a better result, placing 3ʳᵈ out of 42 participants with 106 points!

Carla Fernandes represented Portugal, the host nation of the fourth edition, with her song "Hasta La Vista" sung in English, which placed 2ⁿᵈ out of 38 participating countries with 98 points. She returned to the contest in the seventh edition, when she represented Spain at its first and only participation so far, together with Matt Hunter, with the song "Entera" sung in English and Spanish, which placed 5ᵗʰ out of 33 participating countries with 98 points as well. In this occasion she was selected to represent Poland this time again as a soloist, with her song "OK", sung in Polish, placing 13ᵗʰ with 81 points.

Abir represented Morocco in the third edition of the contest with her song "Yallah (يالله)" sung in English, which placed 8ᵗʰ out of 27 participating countries with 61 points. In this occasion, she was selected to represent Morocco again, with her song "Inferno", again in English, unfortunately placing 24ᵗʰ with 36 points.

Lola Marsh represented Israel in the tenth edition of the contest with their song "Only For A Moment" sung in English, which placed 23ʳᵈ out of 46 participating countries with 43 points. In this occasion, they represented again their country, Israel, with their song "Echoes", again in English, achieving a better result, placing 2ⁿᵈ with 118 points!

Bea Miller represented the United States of America in the sixth edition of the contest, together with 6LACK, with the song "It's Not U, It's Me" which placed 15ᵗʰ out of 27 participating countries with 49 points. In this occasion, she was selected as a soloist to represent Papua New Guinea, with her song "Wisdom Teeth", again in English, unfortunately placing 24ᵗʰ with 28 points.

National Selections
Germany, Greenland, Norway, and the Philippines used a National Selection to determine the country's representative for OMSC 13.

Oonaghs Glück (OMSC 13)
Main article: Oonaghs Glück (OMSC 13)

Grønlands Kvalifikationer (OMSC 13)
Main article: Grønlands Kvalifikationer (OMSC 13)

Melodi Grand Prix (OMSC 13)
Main article: Melodi Grand Prix (OMSC 13)

Kanta ng Pilipinas (OMSC 13)
Main article: Kanta ng Pilipinas (OMSC 13)

Withdrawing Countries
These countries confirmed their non-participation in the thirteenth edition of the contest:

• Angola – Televisão Pública de Angola (TPA) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, that Angola would withdraw from the contest for unknown reasons.

• Argentina – Televisión Pública Argentina (TPA) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, that its participation in the thirteenth edition of the contest would not be possible.

• Bulgaria – Bulgaria's broadcaster announced on the 25ᵗʰ April 2021 its withdrawal from the contest for unknown reasons.

• Chile – Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, that Chile would withdraw from the contest without further explanations.

• Colombia – Radio Televisión Nacional de Colombia (RTVC) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021 that its participation in the thirteenth edition of the contest would not be possible.

• Crimea – Crimea announced on the 25ᵗʰ April 2021 that its participation in the thirteenth edition of the contest would not be possible.

• Ghana – Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) announced the country's withdrawal on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, probably because of the poor results in the previous edition.

• Guyana – National Communications Network (NCN) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, that Guyana would not participate in the thirteenth edition of the contest, despite scoring a good result in the previous edition.

• Iraq – Iraqi Media Network (IMN) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, that Iraq would withdraw from the contest for unknown reasons.

• Mali – Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision du Mali (ORTM) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, that Mali would withdraw from the contest, probably because of the poor results in the previous edition.

• Marshall Islands – Marshall Islands did not appear on the list of participants published on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021.

• Mexico – Mexico's broadcaster Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano (SPR) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021 that its participation in the thirteenth edition of the contest would not be possible.

• Micronesia – Micronesia did not appear on the list of participants published on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021.

• Moldova – When submission period started, Moldovan broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) stated that they had yet to make a decision on their participation. Moldova did not appear on the list of participants published on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021.

• Nicaragua – Radio y Televisión de Nicaragua (RTN) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021, that Nicaragua would withdraw from the contest for unknown reasons.

• Norfolk Island – Norfolk Island did not appear on the list of participants published on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021.

• North Macedonia – Macedonian Radio-Television (MRT) announced on the 25ᵗʰ April 2021, that North Macedonia would not participate in the thirteenth edition for unknown reasons.

• Singapore - Singapore did not appear on the list of participants published on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021.

• Switzerland – SRG SSR announced on the 25ᵗʰ April 2021, its withdrawal from the contest without further explanations.

• United States' Virgin Islands – United States' Virgin Islands did not appear on the list of participants published on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021.

• Uzbekistan – Uzbek broadcaster O`zbekiston Milliy Teleradiokompaniyasi (MRTK) announced on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021 that Uzbekistan would not participate in the thirteenth edition of the contest.

• Vietnam – Đài Truyền Hình Việt Nam (VTV) announced the country's withdrawal on the 2ⁿᵈ May 2021.