How it works

1 · Enter the season

Create an account, confirm your email, upload your passport, and join the open season. You then upload one performance and trim it to the season's window — 20 to 50 seconds by default. A moderator approves it before anyone sees it.

2 · The audience votes

Approved performances go into the feed, where members with a confirmed email address watch and vote by liking. One vote per person per performance, and you can take it back. Counts are public throughout.

3 · The top 48

When voting closes, the 100 most-voted performances go through to the live-broadcast stage, and their vote rank becomes their seed. From those, 48 finalists are confirmed and arranged into 12 balanced groups of 4 by musical style.

Your vote rank is your seed. The audience decides who goes through, not us.

4 · The group stage

Every group plays a full round-robin: 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. A level match really is a draw and a point each stays on the table.

5 · The knockout

The top 2 of every group and the 8 best third-placed contestants make the round of 32, then the round of 16, quarters, semis and the final — 103 matches in all, with no third-place playoff. A level knockout tie is settled by a sing-off rather than a draw.