News: guitar idol 2009 new rules and judges posted

News:
03-02-2009:

Things are starting to fall into place. The LIMM show artists are being announced and the guitar idol submissions continue apace, currently 218 in Heat 2.

First up for new itesm, the guitar idol online judges are being announced and include respected players like John Denner. This list will grow as bio's are still being received. This list of judges.



Plus the latest rules which you should study look to have ironed out some of the issues with the voting system, that coupled with the online judges is sure to make things go more smoothly:
Rules of the Competition

For the remainder of the Guitar Idol 2009 competition some important changes to the competition rules and structure are being introduced. These changes are being made as a result of close consultation between the organisers and sponsors as well as responding directly to feedback from both contestants and users.

These are designed to ensure that the next six months run as smoothly, fairly and efficiently as possible. These changes will come into effect as of Heat 2 of the competition and in no way affect the progression of the successful entrants from Heat 1 into the final online round of voting.
The Finalists Selections

To ensure that the very best guitarists make it through to the Live Final and in the interests of integrity and quality, the balance of judges to public votes will change from Heat 2 onwards.
Heat 2 & 3

* The Top 20 guitarists from the public vote for Heat’s 2 and 3 will go through to the online Final Heat.
* An additional 20 guitarists chosen by the judges will also go through from Heat’s 2 and 3 to the online Final Heat.

Final Online Heat

* The 120 victorious guitarists from Heats 1, 2 and 3 will battle for 12 places at the Live Final.
* The Top 4 guitarists from the public vote shall be invited to perform at the Live Final.†
* The Judges Top 8 choices shall be invited to perform at the Live Final.†

† In the event that one or more cannot attend, the next in line contestants shall be invited so that the ratio between public votes and judges remains consistent.

This is to ensure that as fair a balance as is possible between Internet ‘popularity’ and artistic excellence is achieved. In any online competition the presence of spam voting and disposable email addresses can give a false impression of the popularity of some contestants, and in some cases this can be highly evident.

These changes will benefit the contestants, the competition… and ultimately the popularity of virtuoso guitar playing!
Changes To The Voting Rules

From the start of heat 2 voting will be open throughout the heats.

Contestants MUST market themselves straight away and start accruing votes instantly to stand the best chance of succeeding. This will not be to the detriment of late contestants, as the judges will be selecting 20 finalists from each of these heats. If you are good enough you WILL get through…
The Heats

In response to emails from contestants who are confused with the structure of the heats, we would like to clarify how the heats work.
Heat 1 closes December 28th 2008 5pm (GMT)

* From Heat 1 the top 30 by Public Vote and 10 chosen by the Judges will progress to the Final Online Heat as originally stated.
* The 10 Judges choices will be announced on January 2nd 2009
* If you are not successful in Heat 1 you can re-enter – either with the same entry or a new song – in Heat 2.

Heat 2 starts on January 5th 2009 9pm (GMT) / closes on February 15th 2009 5pm (GMT)

Voting will be open throughout the heat.

* Top 20 by public vote and 20 chosen by the Judges will progress to the final online heat.
* The 20 Judges choices will be announced before February 20th 2009.
* If you are not successful in Heat 2 you can re-enter – either with the same entry or a new song – in Heat 3.

Heat 3 starts February 23rd 2009 9pm (GMT) / closes on March 29th 2009 5pm (GMT).

Voting will be open throughout the heat.

* Top 20 by public vote and 20 chosen by the Judges will progress to the final online heat.
* The 20 Judges choices will be announced before April 5th 2009

If you are successful in Heat’s 1, 2 or 3 you can re-enter – either with the same entry or a new song – for the Final Online Heat.
Final Online Heat starts April 13th 9pm (GMT) / closes on May 5th 2009 9pm (GMT)

* The 120 finalist chosen from Heats 1, 2, and 3, will compete in the Final Online Heat.
* No more entries will be accepted.
* The finalists will be shown on http://www.guitari…

The top 4 by public vote and 8 others by judges choice will then be invited to attend the live final on 13th June 2009. The judges choices will be informed as soon as possible and will be published online very soon after May 5th.
THE SONG ENTERED FOR THE ONLINE FINAL HEAT MUST BE THE SAME ONE THAT IS TO BE PERFORMED AT THE LIVE GRAND FINAL!!!!!!!!!
Changes To The Format Of The Entries

As a result of hundreds of enquiries we will again be uploading our own pre-recorded backing tracks from the Guitar Idol 2008 competition which all contestants are free to use for their entry.
Length of Entry:

We initially requested a limit for song entries of approx 4 minutes.

This is because there is a set amount of time allocated at The London International Music Show for the Live Final.

However, again as a result of user feedback we are relaxing that rule for Heats 2, 3.

There is now no time limit on your entry for Heats 2 and 3 – if you wish to submit a 10 minute entry you will be free to do so.
However, for the Final Online Heat your song must be no longer than approx 5 minutes as this will be the one you play live should you be chosen. This is due to the time constraints of the show.

If you are one of the 12 Final Online Heat winners you will need to send to the live band backing tracks in appropriate formats for them to rehearse – details of formats of backing tracks required for the live band will be posted before the final online heat.
Good Luck!

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