1. Contestants must be attendees of Animazement 2026. Staff and volunteers are eligible to compete so long as they are not part of the Karaoke staff. A maximum of 20 entries will be accepted, with an additional 5 available for waitlist.
2. Contestants will be notified by May 5, 2026 if they were chosen to participate in the contest along with their entry number or waitlist number.
3. Contestants may sing songs from the following sources: Anime, J-pop and Japanese video games. For contest purposes no purely English tracks, even if made for anime (Dani California used in Death Note or Nobody used in Kaiju 8, for example) or domestic animation tracks (Steven Universe, for example) will be allowed, please see all guidelines within this set of rules, to include using a karaoke version of your track. Contestants must use the official lyrics to the song—performing original lyrics, fan-made songs or translations is not allowed. Only English or Japanese language songs from the dubbed version of an anime series or video games are acceptable.
4. The contest will take place in two rounds, with the highest scorers of the preliminary round moving to the final round. The number of contestants to move to the final round will be left to the judge’s discretion. Following the final round, the judges deliberate and awards will be announced directly afterward, there will be light entertainment while the judges deliberate for a maximum of 10 minutes.
5. New this year! During the judges deliberation, fans will be able to vote for their favorite act, have your cell phone ready to vote!
6. Contestants must be present to receive their award.
7. Only two microphones will be available for the contestants’ use. Please keep this in mind when planning a group performance.
8. Contestants may participate as a Single Entry (one person) or a Group Entry (2-5).
9. Contestants may only compete once in the contest. If competing as a Group Entry, all members must sing during each round. Group members may not rotate or change between rounds.
10. Contestants are asked to prepare a different song for each round. Songs may be performed with a backing track, but can also be sung a cappella.
11. New limits this year! Time limits for songs are as follows:
    • Preliminary Round – 1:45
    • Final Round – 5:00
12. If a song exceeds these time limits your entry will not be accepted, please cut your music before sending (there are free applications online to achieve this easily), contestants are allowed 10 seconds over the time limit as a courtesy. 
13. Contestants may register online in advance by clicking the Sign Ups button on this page.
14. At the time of registration, contestants MUST provide their desired two songs. 
15. We highly suggest using a karaoke version or instrumental version of a song. If a karaoke or instrumental version is not available, the karaoke staff will attempt to dampen the vocals via soundboard while playing the song, which does not always work well.  This is required for the judges to hear the contestant performing and not the original artist.
16. It is acceptable to use a printed lyrics sheet during your performance, however, if the contestant seems to be distracted by the lyrics sheet or spends too much time reading it, this could negatively affect their score. If you need a lyrics sheet printed, please see the deadline and disclaimer regarding the song choices above.
17. During the performance, the contestant(s) will be the only one onstage. Backup dancers are not permitted.
18. Contestants are not allowed to leave the stage or stage area during their performance—this includes singing or performing within the audience. This is for the sake of the equipment and everyone’s ears, so please keep this rule in mind. Contestants may also not interact with the judges or MC during their performance.
19. Karaoke Contest staff will determine the order in which each contestant competes. Staff will make every attempt to honor requests from contestants as to when they perform in the contest, but there are no guarantees these requests can be granted. Please keep in mind your turn may come up sooner if another contestant does not show (we will make all attempts to notify contestants of line-up changes prior to beginning).
20. The decisions of the judges are final. Any contestant who attempts to argue with the judges or staff may be disqualified from the competition.
21. All performances must be family-friendly and rated PG or less, staff attempts to screen music prior to being played, but please use your judgment when it comes to language contained within your song choices. Karaoke Contest staff reserve the right to stop a performance and disqualify an entrant if they feel the act has become inappropriate.
22. All contestants must check in at the Karaoke Contest 5 minutes before the event start time (TBD) on Saturday in Events C, please follow signs or staff guidance to locate us. If you are on the waitlist, also check-in, please stay for the entire first round to see if we can fit you based on the contestants received. Please use your number given via email confirmation (before the contest) at check-in to expedite this process.
23. Any contestants who have not checked in by the start of the contest will be eliminated and a contestant from the waiting list will be selected to compete instead.

Scoring -- Contestants will be scored on the following criteria, please note Duets/Groups will be judged as one contestant:

• Vocal Performance (1-25 points) -- Contestants will be rated on their vocal performance and ability, including pitch, phrasing, vibrato, rhythm, and tone. In addition, bonus points will be considered for the following
  • Lyric knowledge
  • Diction and clarity of a foreign-language songs (chance for more points over using English language songs!)
• Stage Presence (1-10 points) -- Contestants will be rated on their stage presence and presentation, including confidence, movement/dancing, appearance, and command of the audience. Please keep in mind you can engage with the audience and/or dance, but please no stripping or leaving the stage.
• Points will NOT be awarded or subtracted for the following: Singing style, genre of the song or difficulty of song performed

Awards -- The following awards will be given:

• • First Place
  • Second Place
  • Third Place
  • Fan Favorite

Additional prizes may be awarded depending on scores and/or availability of prizes.