Kat Cunning wins United States of Song 2021 with "Supernova (tigers blud)"

Another edition is now in the books. Although it took even longer than last year (for #reasons), the final results were much clearer this year: Oregon's Kat Cunning won USoS 2021 with their pop-ballad “Supernova (tigers blud)" with 114 points: 67 (T-1st) from the jury, and 47 (2nd) from the public.

The 31-year-old musician who originally hails from Gresham is also a talented actor and dancer. After their debut on Broadway over five years ago, Cunning's career has taken many twists and turns - including signing with current label Lava Records the day before the video to Supernova was published to their YouTube channel. Two months later, a remix of Supernova by PVRIS was released with its own music video.

The song was submitted as one of three possible entries for Oregon, and then chosen internally by the USoS committee. Oregon has had a state selection process in the past, but not since 2018. The song was recommended for inclusion to the contest by Derek Rye, a long-time contributor and competitor in the contest.

"Supernova (tigers blud)" is a pop ballad in the typical verse-chorus format. The lyrical content references Cunning's sense of masculinity when in a serious relationship with another woman, and a celebration of power (like a supernova) that makes someone become something greater through love--even when its not true. (Editor's note: I'm not sure why 'blud' is misspelled the way it is, but I will theorize it had something to do with the way it was written in the songwriting process.)

This victory is Oregon's first; it's also their first Top 3 finish. Until now, Oregon had three previous Top 10 results, with Joseph's "White Flag" achieving 5th place in 2017 and two 7th place finishes in 2018 and 2020. Rounding out the top three are Missouri's Aron Wright in second place with "Home Again", and Georgia finishing 3rd for the first time with Stela Cole's "Love Like Mine". Rounding out the top five are Alaska and New York.

A jury of 14 people and 58 public voters determined the final result. Eight of the Top 10 songs were in the first half of the running order, and all of the top seven. The full table of results (which include the entries of all participating states and territories) are available at the Song Contests Wiki.

Contest organizers will take a short break before preparation begins for the 2022 edition. It has already been announced that the host city for next year's edition is Portland.

Congratulations to Oregon, and see you next year!

-Greg