USoS 2021 location, slogan, and theme revealed!
Happy New Year! We are very excited to share the United States of Song 2021 theme and location...
We are going to Minneapolis, Minnesota! I don't think this will surprise anyone. Minneapolis is the most logical choice because it, as part of the Twin Cities, is the largest city in Minnesota. It is also home to plenty of wonderful music. You can hear everything from rap to rock, rhythm and blues, funk and punk and indie and folk - so many famous musicians come from this state. It is the perfect place to hold a music competition.
Last year we enjoyed coming up with a theme slogan, like Eurovision does. For 2021, we wanted to do the same, but we needed something uplifting and healing. Thus, this year's slogan is "Northern Light, Future Bright." The inspirational theme it ties into is pretty clear. Minnesota must emerge in 2021 from a dark time in its history; 2020 represented the national epicenter of a lot of hatred and discontent. This logo kind of 'glows' like an aurora borealis (northern lights) - and from our point of view, it represents hope. 2020 was not a kind year (and I wrote this paragraph before the events of this week, so wrap January 2021 into that conversation too.)
But we can move forward together, hold people to higher standards, work for that 'bright future' we all want to see, and reach for the stars. A northern star (which is a prominent symbol of Minnesota) appears in roughly the location of Minneapolis, because the glowing rays are roughly in the state's shape.
There are two 'variants' of the design. One (for the State selections and Semifinals) represents the bright green lights and black / dark purple skies; the other (Final Round) is a rainbow borealis, which I think is representative of this contest's collective mindset of acceptance, inclusion, and growth.
Individual state selection designs will not vary much this year, but those who have confirmed will be given support banners to share support for their act!
What do you think of the designs? Let us know your thoughts below.
This post is also a reminder to send in song suggestions! There are a few states that don't have anything yet (examples are Indiana, Delaware, Louisiana, New Mexico, Rhode Island...) so if you would like to submit songs or confirm with one of these states, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do it!
The deadline for state confirmations is still January 16th, and the deadline for deciding / submitting songs is January 31.
After the 16th, you may contact us to have your song confirmed and/or be sent a list of songs to choose from. Once we confirm it, you can publicly post it if you wish and I will design a support banner for you.
Good luck!
-GL
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