OMSC 21

Online Music Song Contest 21, often referred to as OMSC 21, was the twenty-first edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Yerevan, after Armenia won the previous edition of the contest.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 21 occured on the 5ᵗʰ December 2021, the Semi-Finals on the 12ᵗʰ December 2021 while the Final occured on the 20ᵗʰ December 2021. Fifty countries participated in the twenty-first contest, under the slogan “Embrace Unity!”.

Canada won the contest with the song "Still Dancing", sung in English, receving a total of 161 points. Indonesia finished in second place with a margin of just twelve points from the winner, while the Philippines finished in third place. They were followed by Australia, which reached the fourth place and France which reached the fifth place.

Location
After it's victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster ARMTV chose to host the contest in the capital and most populous city of Armenia, Yerevan. It has a population of over 1,000,000 inhabitants which is just over 35% of Armenia's total population. Situated along the Hrazdan River, the upper part of Yerevan is surrounded with mountains on three sides and it has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat plain. The city also serves as the seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese; the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world.

The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8ᵗʰ century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by King Argishti I at the western extreme of the Ararat plain. Erebuni was “designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital”. By the late ancient Armenian Kingdom, new capital cities were established and Yerevan declined in importance. Under Iranian and Russian rule, it was the center of the Erivan Khanate from 1736 to 1828 and the Erivan Governorate from 1850 to 1917, respectively. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire arrived in the area. Yerevan expanded rapidly during the 20ᵗʰ century as Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. In a few decades, it was transformed from a provincial town to Armenia's principal cultural, artistic, and industrial center, as well as becoming the seat of national government. New educational, scientific and cultural institutions were founded too.

With the growth of the Armenian economy, Yerevan has undergone major transformation. Much construction has been done throughout the city since the early 2000s, and retail outlets such as restaurants, shops, and street cafés, which were rare during Soviet times, have multiplied. When Armenia became a republic of the Soviet Union, Yerevan remained as capital and accommodated all the political and diplomatic institutions in the republic. In 1991 with the independence of Armenia, Yerevan continued with its status as the political and cultural centre of the country, being home to all the national institutions: the Government House, the National Assembly, the Presidential Palace, the Central Bank and the Constitutional Court.

Nowadays Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, artistic and industrial center of the country as well as the seat of the national government with a large number of museums, important monuments and the national public library. Of its notable landmarks, Erebuni Fortress is considered to be the birthplace of the city, the Katoghike Tsiranavor church is the oldest surviving church of Yerevan and Saint Gregory Cathedral is the largest Armenian cathedral in the world, Tsitsernakaberd is the official memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and several opera houses, theatres, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. Yerevan Opera Theatre is the main spectacle hall of the Armenian capital, the National Gallery of Armenia is the largest art museum in Armenia and shares a building with the History Museum of Armenia, and the Matenadaran repository contains one of the largest depositories of ancient books and manuscripts in the world. It also hosts Vardavar the most widely celebrated festival among Armenians and is one of the historic centres of traditional Armenian carpet.

Participants
Fifty countries participated in the twenty-first edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Ukraine), fifteen Asian countries (Armenia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, North Korea, Palestine, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Turkmenistan), seven American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Curaçao, Mexico, United States of America), eight Oceanian countries (American Samoa, Australia, Cocos Islands, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Palau) and five African countries (Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Mayotte, Réunion).

In this edition Equatorial Guinea and Mayotte participated for the first time.

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

Rosé represented South Korea in the fourth edition and North Korea in the seventeenth edition, in both occasion as part of the group BLACKPINK: in Lisbon she performed with other artists the song "Lovesick Girls" which won the contest with 118 points and brought the contest to Busan; in Geneva the group participated again, this time for North Korea. The performed song was "Forever Young", sung again in English and Korean, which placed 25ᵗʰ out of 50 participanting countries with 41.5 points. This time she was chosen to represent New Zealand as a soloist with her song "Gone", after her song "On The Ground" got rejected, placing 31ˢᵗ with 76 points, in the semi-final.

Boom Boom Cash represented Thailand in the eighth edition of the contest with the song "Pákdee Kâe Năi (ภักดีแค่ไหน)" sung entirely in Thai, which placed 16ᵗʰ out of 37 participating countries with 51 points. In this occasion, the group represented Thailand again, with the song "Hakuna Matata", sung in English and Thai, placing 13ᵗʰ with 74 points.

CXLOE represented the Marshall Islands in the eighteenth edition of the contest with her song "Show You", sung in English, which unfortunately didn't make it to the final, placing 41ˢᵗ out of 50 participating countries with 48 points. In this occasion, she represented the Cocos Islands after the country's return after fifteen editions. She performed her song "Devil You Don't", again in English, placing 24ᵗʰ with 36 points.

Karolina Stanisławczyk represented Poland, together with Miyo, at its fourth appearence in the fifth edition of the contest. She performed the song "Wyliczanka" sung entirely in Polish, which placed 13ᵗʰ out of 29 participating countries with 42 points. In this occasion, she represented Poland again, as soloist, with her song "Cliché", sung again in Polish, placing 10ᵗʰ with 82 points.

Emmy Liyana represented the Republic of Congo in the eighteenth edition of the contest with her song "Tristesse", sung in French, which placed 10ᵗʰ out of 50 participating countries with 92 points and achieving the country's best result so far. In this occasion, she represented France, with her song "Brille Encore", again in French, placing 5ᵗʰ with 116 points.

Nico Santos participated in OMSC 4 as part of the group Wier: he performed with other artists the song "Best Of Us", placing 3ʳᵈ out of 38 participating countries with 85 points. He participated again in the seventh edition, together with Alle Farben and Martin Jensen performing the song "Running Back To You", again in English, placing 7ᵗʰ with 88 points. This time he was chosen as soloist to represent Liechtenstein with his song "Play With Fire", placing 29ᵗʰ with 80 points, without unfortunately qualifying for the final.

Iveta Mukuchyan represented Armenia in the fifteenth edition of the contest, in Helsinki. She performed her song "Hayastan Jan (Հայաստան ջան)", sung entirely in Armenian, which unfortunately didn't make it to the final, placing 35ᵗʰ out of 50 participating countries with 59 points. In this occasion, she represented Armenia again, on home soil. She performed her song "Hayastani Axjikner (Հայաստանի Աղջիկներ)", again in Armenian, placing 8ᵗʰ with 89 points.

Helly Luv represented Iraq twice: at its second appearence in the contest she performed her song "Boy Bye", sung in English, which placed 2ⁿᵈ with 123 points, achieving the Iraqi best result so far; she competed again for Iraq, at its last appearence in the nineteenth edition, with her song "Revolution" which unfortunately didn't make it to the final and placed 41ˢᵗ out of 50 countries with 33 points. In this occasion she was selected one last time to represent Iran with her song "Min Tu Navey", sung in English as well, placing 42ⁿᵈ with 26.5 points, without unfortunately qualifying for the final.

Elephant Heart represented the United States’ Virgin Islands in the very first edition of the contest with their song "The Digital", sung in English, which placed 9ᵗʰ out of 18 participating countries with 56 points and achieving the country's best result to date. In this occasion, the duo represented Guam, with the song "Africa", again in English, placing 46ᵗʰ with 143 points, in the pre-qualification round.

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

• Albania – Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021 that Albania would not participate in the twenty-first edition of the contest.

• Algeria – Établissement Public de Télévision (EPTV) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021 that Algeria will withdraw from the contest.

• Aruba – Aruba did not appear on the list of participants published on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021, probably because of the poor results in the previous editions.

• Azerbaijan – İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti (İTV) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021 Azerbaijan's withdrawal from the contest, without further explanation.

• Belgium – Belgian broadcasters VRT and RTBF confirmed on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021 that Belgium would not take part in the twenty-first edition of the contest.

• Canary Islands – Televisión Canaria (TVC) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021 the country's withdrawal from the contest, for unknown reasons.

• Chile – Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021, that Chile would not participate in the twenty-first edition, due to a lack of interest from the Chilean public.

• Cuba – Instituto Cubano de Radio y Televisión (ICRT) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021 that Cuba's participation in the twenty-first edition of the contest would not be possible, citing debts and the ongoing financial issues.

• Egypt – Egyptian broadcaster Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021 its withdrawal from the contest, without further explanations.

• Finland – While Finnish Broadcasting Corporation (YLE), had provisionally confirmed their participation in the contest, on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021, Finland announced its withdrawal from the contest for unknown reasons.

• French Guiana – French Guiana did not appear on the list of participants published on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021.

• Georgia – Georgia's broadcaster Sakartvelos Sazogadoebrivi Mauts'q'ebeli (GPB) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021 its withdrawal from the contest citing low ratings during their time in the contest.

• Greece – While Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), had provisionally confirmed their participation in the contest, later Greece announced its withdrawal from the contest for unknown reasons.

• Guadeloupe – Guadeloupe Télévision (GTV) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021, that Guadeloupe would not participate in the twenty-first edition, probably because of the poor results in the previous edition.

• Jordan – Jordanian broadcaster Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV) announced the country's withdrawal right after the final, after the disappointment from the results of their debut.

• Kuwait – Kuwait did not appear on the list of participants published on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021.

• Lebanon – Télé Liban (TL) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021 its withdrawal from the contest, for unknown reasons.

• Liberia – Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) announced the withdrawal a few days after the confirmations opened, for unknown reasons.

• Lithuania – Lithuania's broadcaster Lietuvos Nacionalinis Radijas ir Televizija (LRT) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021, that Lithuania would not participate in the twenty-first edition, despite achieving a good result and their best result to date in the previous edition.

• Malta – While Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) had provisionally confirmed their participation in the contest, it was later announced that Malta would withdraw from the contest, probably because of the poor results in the last two editions.

• Russia – Russia's broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021 that Russia would not participate in the twenty-first edition of the contest, despite placing 2ⁿᵈ in the previous edition and achieving Russia's best result so far.

• Senegal – Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise (RTS) announced the country's withdrawal on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021, because of financial difficulties.

• South Africa – South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021 South Africa's withdrawal from the contest, citing low ratings during their time in the contest.

• Uruguay – When submission period started, Televisión Nacional Uruguay (TNU) stated that they had yet to make a decision on their participation. Uruguay later confirmed its withdrawal on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021.

• Vatican – Vatican broadcaster Vatican Television Center (VTC) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021 its withdrawal from the contest, because of the broadcaster's intention to focus on news content instead of music and entertainment.

• Venezuela – Corporación Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) announced on the 28ᵗʰ November 2021, that Venezuela would not participate in the twenty-first edition of the contest.

• Vietnam – Đài Truyền Hình Việt Nam (VTV) announced on the 21ˢᵗ November 2021, that Vietnam would withdraw from the contest, without further explanations.