OMSC 15

Online Music Song Contest 15, often referred to as OMSC 15, was the fifteenth edition of Online Music Song Contest, held in Helsinki, after Finland won the previous edition of the contest. Since this edition a pre-qualification round was introduced, consisting in the bottom five from the previous edition's first and second semi-final. The four countries with the highest score advanced to the semi-finals.

The Pre-Qualification Round of OMSC 15 occured on the 20ᵗʰ June 2021, the Semi-Finals on the 27ᵗʰ June 2021 while the Final occured on the 4ᵗʰ July 2021. Fifty countries participated in the fifteenth contest, under the slogan “#BeStrong!”.

Location
After it's victory in the previous edition, the broadcaster YLE chose to host the contest in the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland, Helsinki, which has a population of 656,000 inhabitants. Called the "Daughter of the Baltic" or the "Pearl of the Baltic Sea", Helsinki is on the tip of a peninsula and on hundreds of islands. The inner city is located on a southern peninsula while outside of it, much of Helsinki consists of postwar suburbs separated by patches of forest. After Stockholm and Oslo, Helsinki is the third largest municipality in the Nordic countries. Finnish and Swedish are both official languages. The city is served by the international Helsinki Airport, located in the neighboring city of Vantaa, with frequent service to many destinations in Europe and Asia.

In the Iron Age the area occupied by present-day Helsinki was inhabited by Tavastians. They used the area for fishing and hunting, but due to a lack of archeological finds it is difficult to say how extensive their settlements were. Pollen analysis has shown that there were cultivating settlements in the area in the 10ᵗʰ century and surviving historical records from the 14ᵗʰ century describe Tavastian settlements in the area. Swedes colonized the coastline of the Helsinki region in the late 13ᵗʰ century after the successful Second Crusade to Finland, which led to the defeat of the Tavastians.

Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors, which he intended to be a rival to the Hanseatic city of Reval, today known as Tallinn. In order to populate his newly founded town, the King issued an order to resettle the bourgeoisie of Porvoo, Ekenäs, Rauma and Ulvila into the town. Little came of the plans as Helsinki remained a tiny town plagued by poverty, wars, and diseases. The plague of 1710 killed the greater part of the inhabitants of Helsinki. The construction of the naval fortress Sveaborg in the 18ᵗʰ century helped improve Helsinki's status, but it was not until Russia defeated Sweden in the Finnish War and annexed Finland as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 that the town began to develop into a substantial city. Russians besieged the Sveaborg fortress during the war, and about one quarter of the town was destroyed in an 1808 fire.

Russian Emperor Alexander I of Russia moved the Finnish capital from Turku to Helsinki in 1812 to reduce Swedish influence in Finland, and to bring the capital closer to Saint Petersburg. As elsewhere, technological advancements such as railroads and industrialization were key factors behind the city's growth. Despite the tumultuous nature of Finnish history during the first half of the 20ᵗʰ century, Helsinki continued its steady development. A landmark event was the 1952 Olympic Games, held in Helsinki. Finland's rapid urbanization in the 1970s, occurring late relative to the rest of Europe and tripled the population in the metropolitan area. The relatively sparse population density of Helsinki and its peculiar structure have often been attributed to the lateness of its growth.

Nowadays, Helsinki it's Finland's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture and research. It has one of the world's highest urban standards of living. In 2011, the British magazine Monocle ranked Helsinki the world's most liveable city in its liveable cities index. In the Economist Intelligence Unit's liveability survey, Helsinki was ranked 9ᵗʰ among 140 cities.

Participants
Fifty countries participated in the fifteenth edition of the contest: fifteen European countries (Åland Islands, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Kingdom), thirteen Asian countries (Armenia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam), six American countries (Brazil, Jamaica, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, United States of America), ten Oceanian countries (Australia, Fiji, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu) and six African countries (Algeria, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania).

In this edition Estonia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Slovakia, Syria, Tonga and Tuvalu participated for the first time.

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

Perfume represented Japan in the tenth edition of the contest with the song "Flash" sung in Japanese, which placed 19ᵗʰ out of 46 participating countries with 48 points. In this occasion, they represented again Japan, this time with the song "Tokyo Girl", sung in Japanese again, trying to achieve a better result.

Marina represented host nation Greece in the tenth edition of the contest with the song "To Be Human" sung in English, which placed 9ᵗʰ out of 46 participating countries with 82 points. In this occasion, she represented Fiji, this time with the song "Venus Fly Trap", sung in English again, trying to achieve a better result.

Elodie represented Guam in the ninth edition of the contest, together with Mariah Angeliq and Takagi & Ketra, with the song "Ciclone", sung in Italian and Spanish which placed 37ᵗʰ out of 46 participating countries without unfortunately qualifying for the final. In this occasion, she represented Italy, as soloist, with her song "Guaranà", sung in Italian, trying to achieve a better result.

Galantis represented Guam at its debut in the third edition, together with Max Schneider, with the song "Satisfied" which placed 22ⁿᵈ out of 27 participating countries with 60 points without unfortunately qualifying for the final. In this occasion they were selected to represent debut nation Tuvalu, together with David Guetta and another returning group, Little Mix. This time they performed "Heartbreak Anthem", sung in English as well, trying to achieve a better result.

Little Mix represented Egypt in the seventh edition of the contest with the song "Sweet Melody", sung in English which placed 8ᵗʰ out of 33 participating countries, scoring Egypt's best result so far. In this occasion, they represented debut nation Tuvalu, together with David Guetta and another returning group, Galantis. This time they performed "Heartbreak Anthem", sung in English as well, trying to achieve a better result.

KeshYou represented Kazakhstan at its debut in the second edition, with their song "Armandaymın (Армандаймын)" sung in Kazakh, which placed 6ᵗʰ out of 14 participating countries with 64 points, scoring Kazakhstan's best result so far. They returned to the contest in the tenth edition, again for Kazakhstan, together Baller, with the song "Swala La La", which placed 16ᵗʰ out of 46 participating countries with 56 points. In this occasion they were selected to represent Kazakhstan one last time, this time with their song "Asıkpa (Асыкпа)", sung in Kazakh as well, trying to achieve a better result.

Mariah Carey represented American Samoa in the seventh edition of the contest with the song "All I Want For Christmas Is You", sung in English which placed 14ᵗʰ out of 33 participating countries with 69 points. In this occasion, she represented Guam, together with Jennifer Hudson and another returning artist, Ariana Grande. This time she performed with them "Oh Santa!", sung in English as well, trying to achieve a better result.

Ariana Grande represented the United States of America in the eighth edition of the contest with her song "34+35", sung in English which placed 31ˢᵗ out of 37 participating countries with 53 points without unfortunately qualifying for the final. In this occasion, she represented Guam, together with Jennifer Hudson and another returning artist, Mariah Carey. This time she performed with them "Oh Santa!", sung in English as well, trying to achieve a better result.

Taylor Swift represented the United States of America in the very first edition of the contest, together with Bon Iver, with her song "Exile", sung in English, which placed 7ᵗʰ out of 18 participating countries with 58 points. She returned to the contest in the eighth edition for American Samoa, as soloist, with the song "Willow", which placed 27ᵗʰ out of 37 participating countries with 57 points. In this last occasion she was selected to represent Nauru, this time with her song "Mister Perfectly Fine", sung in English as well, trying to achieve a better result.

Gawaher represented Sudan at its debut in the ninth edition of the contest with her song "El Saaah Seta (الساعة ستة)" sung entirely in Arabic, which placed 5ᵗʰ out of 46 participating countries with 102 points, scoring Sudan's best result to date. She returned to the contest in the following edition, again for Sudan, with the song "Gawezohaloh (جوزهالوا)", which placed 20ᵗʰ out of 46 participating countries with 44 points. In this occasion she was selected to represent Sudan one last time, this time with her song "Ya Maghror (يامغرور)", sung in Arabic as well, trying to achieve a better result.

National Selections
Serbia, South Africa and Taiwan used a National Selection to determine the country's representative for OMSC 15.

Proslava Srpske Pesme (OMSC 15)
Main article: Proslava Srpske Pesme (OMSC 15)

Song for South Africa (OMSC 15)
Main article: Song for South Africa (OMSC 15)

Taipei's Calling (OMSC 15)
Main article: Taipei's Calling (OMSC 15)

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

• Aruba – Aruba did not appear on the list of participants published on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, probably because of the poor results in the previous edition.

• Azerbaijan – İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021 Azerbaijan's withdrawal from the contest, probably because of the last place achieved in the previous edition.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina – Radiotelevizija Bosne i Hercegovine (BHRT) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, that Bosnia and Herzegovina would withdraw from the contest, without further explanations.

• Canada – While Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had provisionally confirmed their participation in the contest on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, Canada did not appear on the list of participants published on the 13ᵗʰ June 2021.

• China – China did not appear on the list of participants published on the 13ᵗʰ June 2021.

• Eritrea – Eritrean broadcaster ERI-TV announced on the 13ᵗʰ June 2021 its withdrawal from the contest for unknown reasons.

• French Polynesia – Tahiti Nui Télévision (TNTV) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, that French Polynesia would withdraw from the contest, probably because of the poor results in the previous edition.

• Greece – Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, that Greece would withdraw from the contest for unknown reasons.

• Guernsey – Guernsey's broadcaster announced the country's withdrawal on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, despite scoring a very good result in the previous edition.

• Iceland – Iceland's broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021 its withdrawal from the contest, without further explanations.

• Indonesian – Indonesia's broadcaster Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) announced on the 7ᵗʰ June 2021 its withdrawal from the contest, for unknown reasons.

• Libya – Libyan Radio and Television (LRT) announced on the 13ᵗʰ June 2021 Libya's withdrawal from the contest, probably because of the poor results achieved in the previous editions.

• Malaysia – Malay broadcaster Radio and Television of Malaysia (RTM) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021 that its participation in the fifteenth edition of the contest would not be possible.

• North Macedonia – Macedonian Radio-Television (MRT) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, that North Macedonia would not participate in the fifteenth edition, probably because of the poor results in the previous edition.

• Mexico – Mexico's broadcaster Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano (SPR) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021 that its participation in the fifteenth edition of the contest would not be possible.

• Réunion – Réunion La Première announced on the 13ᵗʰ June 2021 Réunion's withdrawal from the contest, probably because of the bad result achieved in the previous edition.

• Senegal – Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise (RTS) announced on the 13ᵗʰ June 2021, that its participation in the fifteenth edition of the contest would not be possible for unknown reasons.

• Sweden – Sveriges Television (SVT) announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021, that its participation in the fifteenth edition of the contest would not be possible for unknown reasons.

• Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad and Tobago did not appear on the list of participants published on the 13ᵗʰ June 2021.

• Ukraine – Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC announced on the 6ᵗʰ June 2021 its withdrawal from the contest for unknown reasons.