Special Melody Contest
The Special Melody Contest (often shortened to SMC or Special Melody) is a competition of thematic seasons with special conditions for applications.
Origins and history
The Special Melody was conceived and implemented in order to diversify song competitions by adding various requirements and rules to them, making the selection of applications more difficult, however, the conditions of the competition change every quarter and have its own special theme (in each episode of the competition). This idea was implemented in July 2023, but was invented back in April 2023 by the current curator of Portugal
Format
The format of the competition is unique and each episode of the competition has its own specific rules and restrictions in terms of applications, their release date, performers, languages, number of views, presence in the Billboard chart, etc.
Participation
Any accredited country IECO can participate in the competition. The maximum limit on the number of countries in a quarter is 20 countries.
Hosting
The venue for the first season was selected from among the countries that confirmed their participation in the season. Of the 16 participating countries, 6 candidates were approved by the IECO Council: Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Norway and Thailand. During the discussions and voting, the right to host the first season went to Thailand. The host city was Bangkok - the capital of the chosen country.The venue for the competition was the Impact Arena Bangkok
In the second episode of the competition, instead of Canada, which won the last episode, the competition was hosted by South Korea, which took 2nd place, due to the fact that Canada was unable to host the second episode of the competition
In the third episode of the competition hosted by Greece, winner of second episode Special Melody.The host city was Thessaloniki. The venue for the competition was the PAOK Arena
In the fourth and fifth episodes of the competition hosted by Australia, winner of third and fourth episodes Special Melody. The host city of fourth episode was Perth with venue was RAC Arena. The host city of fifth episode was Brisben with venue was Brisbane Entertainment Centre
In the six epsode of the competition hosted by Israel
Rules
Further information: Rules of the Special Melody Contest
Voting
Winning entries
| Season | Theme | Date | Host | Winner | Language(s) | Points | Runner-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Q3-2023 | Geographical Names | 7 August 2023 |  Bangkok
|
 Canada: The Hardkiss - Antarctica
|
Ukrainian | 120 |  South Korea
|
| II | Q4-2023 | Rock Bangers | 15 December 2023 | Gangneung
|
 Greece: Against The Current - Weapon
|
English | 110 |  Japan
|
| III | Q1-2024 | Cinematic Beats | 28 January 2024 | Thessaloniki
|
 Australia: Stan Walker - I AM
|
English | 103 |  Switzerland
|
| IV | Q2-2024 | Mystery Forces | 6 May 2024 | Perth
|
Australia: Darin - Electric
|
English | 102 | Thailand
|
| V | Q3-2024 | Underrated Gems | 27 october 2024 | Brisben
|
 Israel: Jude York - Monaco
|
English | 117 |  Denmark
|
| VI | Q4-2024 | TBD Winter 2024/2025 |
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