Over the course of the last few weeks, Ubisoft has been running a contest for Assassin's Creed: Revelations, inviting people to submit entries of themselves singing the game's theme song. The winner will be featured in the game singing the theme, and credited on the soundtrack!
In cooperation with UJAM, Ubisoft opened up the entries to a public vote. Those contestants who were voted into the top 20 were subject to a final judgement by a panel of jurors, including legendary composer Hans Zimmer.
Ubisoft provided an instrumental tune for the contestants to sing along to, providing no guidelines or lyrics. Singers could choose to add their own lyrics (some even singing in latin or french), or stick with wordless vocals, as most opted for. After weeks of voting, the contest has finally come to a close.
The winner is Madeline Bell, who sang her way into the 10th position and was then chosen by the judges as the most fitting entry. Congratulations, Madeline!
You can listen to her entry, and the others, through the link above. The jury had a lot of good things to say about the competition, and Madeline's entry.
"We chose Madeline because we felt that she had a quality in her voice that inspired and moved us all. This was never going to be a contest about right or wrong, but about the 'perfect fit' and we were all deeply impressed with the submissions.
The overwhelming response clearly proves that we made the right decision to find a voice among the Assassin's Creed fan community, and that there is a lot of undiscovered talent out there that deserves to be heard."
There were 346 total submissions, with entries largely from female contestants; 17 of the top 20 entries were from female singers. Thousands of votes were tallied, and the contest was an entertaining success.
"We were overwhelmed by the passion and dedication of those who entered and the tens of thousands of people who got involved to support them in the contest. It proves our contest approach was the right one – there is so much great talent out there, waiting for a chance to be heard and UJAM is the platform they have been looking for to make their musical ideas happen."
Below are links to some of the other entries worth listening to, even if some of them might've missed the mark:
Assassin's Creed Theme Rejam, by Rudiger
Assassin's Creed Theme Song, by Camilla Kent
Ego Sum Mortis, by Bobby Barjasteh
Cursed to Kill, by David Timsit
Assassin's Creed Theme, by Bretorious
I think this kind of contest is a great idea, and would love to see more like it!