Confirm participation and submit songs for United States of Song 2022!

Happy New Year! United States of Song welcomes you to Portland, Oregon, which will be the site of the seventh edition of the United States of Song contest. In the midst of the big news that the USA is getting their own "Eurovision", it's quite an exciting time! But more on that later.

For now, it's all about us. And to begin our preparations, we open song submissions and state confirmations to all users!

State Confirmation/Reservation

As is common in a lot of online song contests, you have the ability to confirm/reserve a state or territory, which gives you the power to choose and send a song for that state.

If you are interested in reserving a state or territory, use our Contact form. You have until February 6th, 2022 to reserve (confirm with) a state.

When you confirm with a state, you are responsible for sending a song for approval for that state. If you need assistance in finding or choosing a song, you may contact us about that too - we have plenty of options. You have until February 13th to decide your entry.

As of January 26, the following states have already been claimed by someone else: California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee.

Song Submissions

Additionally, the edition opens with an official call for song submissions. If you have music to share from multiple bands, singers, and performers, or if you're a band that wants to compete, now is your chance. For states that are not reserved by participants, the USoS song committee will gather and determine the official entry from the songs submitted.

To send one or more songs for consideration, click here to open the submission form.

When submitting songs, be aware of the official rules. We only accept songs by artists and bands who live in or are from the 50 U.S. states or six U.S. territories. Secondly, the song must have been publicly released in the year 2021 - no exceptions. If we find proof that it was released prior to January 2021, the song may not be accepted. Thirdly, the song must be under 4 minutes in length. This is so no song has an unintentional advantage over another. As it is, most songs these days fit this time limit.

There are some other rules to be aware of, as well, and they are listed in the Submissions form. Pay attention to them to save time later!

With popular U.S. states, we traditionally hold state-specific song contests. These 'song selections' allow the community to vote for the entry that should represent the state. The three states with the largest music markets, and the home state, are not open for reservation. These states are:

• California

• New York

• Oregon

• Texas (potentially replaced w/ Florida for 2022)

If you are an artist or musician who performed or wrote a song for submission, we want to give you preferred treatment over other entries. But be aware that, due to certain rules, you will not be able to vote for your own song. This is to prevent some issues we've had in the past. We've clarified the specifics in the Rules page linked above.

The Song Submission form closes on February 13, 2022, after which the USoS Song committee will review the submissions. The committee prefers songs that hold their own ground, do not aim to offend, and come from a variety of genres. Being in the midst of a pandemic, there will undoubtedly be a fair amount of unusual or grim themes - we will do our best to balance this out to keep the contest light-hearted and optimistic.

Anyways, Thank You for your interest in our contest! Our next blog post will reveal the theme of the 2022 contest, and will serve as a reminder about state reservations and song submissions.

So... Submit a Song ... or a hundred! The voyage begins today...

-USoS