Singing contest guide: open dates, who runs each one and how to enter
Six singing contests print entry dates between September 30 and November 14, 2026, and each takes entries through its organiser's own application page. The Singer's Company closes first, on September 30; Universal Stars Music Competition holds the latest closing date among the six, November 14. For any singing contest, the organiser's rules and count decide the result, whatever a listing says.
By BuyVotesForContest editorial desk ยท Updated
Six dated entry windows between September 30 and November 14
The Singer's Company sets the earliest deadline among the six: submissions for its Singers With Talent 2026 call must be received through its platform by September 30, 2026, the day this page was last reviewed. Two days later, on October 2, 2026, the William Warfield Scholarship Fund closes the first round of electronic auditions for its classical vocal competition. YoungArts follows on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 8 PM ET, for its 2027 voice applicants.
Two windows work the other way round. The Pasadena Vocal Competition opens applications for its 2027 contest on October 1, 2026, and the Queen Elisabeth Competition will take online applications for Voice 2027 from the end of October 2026 (the exact date is still to be determined). Universal Stars Music Competition closes its 20th edition on November 14, 2026 and prints December 5, 2026 as the results date.
The clock matters as much as the day. 8 PM ET is Eastern Time, so an applicant in another zone converts the hour before the upload starts. Four of the six dates fall in October, which makes late September and early October the crowded stretch for anyone who still has a video to record or a submission file to prepare.
Where to find a list online, and what near me leaves out
Organiser websites are the only place the dates on this page were read, and an organiser's application page settles any disagreement between two lists. Sites that gather singing entries into one list save time, yet each line on them points to an organiser's page and inherits that page's dates and rules. A local request such as near me needs a town to answer it, and the pages read for this guide hold no town-level list.
Country names change the question again. Anyone hunting a singing competition in china, or a singing contest korea entry, has to find the local organiser's own page, because the pages read for this guide hold no dated entry for either.
Canada, the UK and India are equally absent. So are the Philippines and South Africa. A singing contest canada date would need a Canadian organiser's page and a printed deadline before it could be listed here, and the same holds for any other country.
No national list for the USA or America appears among the pages read either. A compiled list would still send a reader back to each organiser's page for the date, the route and the rules.
Songs and accompaniment: what each rulebook requires
Rulebooks treat the song and its accompaniment as a set of conditions, and two of them point in opposite directions. One requires every performance to use musical backgrounds. Another requires all songs to be sung without musical accompaniment or instrumental introductions, interludes or conclusions. A singer choosing songs for either contest therefore reads the accompaniment clause before the song list, since an arrangement that suits one rulebook breaks the other.
Between the two sit the ESC Rules of Eurovision: backing tracks and pre-recorded elements are allowed provided the lead vocal remains the only element performing the main melody. Back vocals get a similar limit in another rulebook, where they are allowed as long as they do not dominate the performer's singing.
Songs themselves are left open in the rulebook lines read here. No required song list, no key or genre rule and no time limit per song appears in them, so none is quoted.
Background music: file format, accompanists and back vocals
The singing contest background, meaning the recorded music under a voice, comes with its own paperwork. One rulebook says background music recordings must be submitted in mp3 format only, and another restricts contestants to copyright-protected background music. Format and origin are stated as plain requirements, which makes them easy to check and easy to miss.
An accompanist is the one case where the rulebook hands the decision to the organiser: prior approval is the condition, so the request goes in before the recording day, not after.
- Background music recordings must be submitted in mp3 format only, according to one rulebook.
- Contestants can bring their own accompanist or ensemble, subject to prior approval by the organisers.
- Back vocals are allowed if they do not dominate the performer's singing.
- Backing tracks and pre-recorded elements are allowed under the ESC Rules while the lead vocal stays the only main melody element.
- Contestants must only use copyright-protected background music to accompany their performances, in one rulebook's wording.
Design, outfit and attire: what rulebooks leave to the organiser
Design around a contest splits into three jobs: the stage, the screen background and the entrant's own outfit. The rulebook lines read for this guide fix none of them. A request for singing contest background design leads to the venue or the organiser, because no line sets a visual standard for a stage, a backdrop or a set of slides.
Outfit and attire are equally unregulated in those lines, so an entrant who needs a ruling asks the organiser in writing before recording day and keeps the reply.
What design does control is the logo, and that one is regulated in plain words.
Logo limits: what the Eurovision brand page allows and forbids
The Eurovision Song Contest logo comes with a brand page of its own. The logo can be used only in black or in white on a sufficiently dark background, and the page also asks that any application of the logo and theme artwork stay in line with its guidelines. Any other usage, commercial or non-commercial, is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from the European Broadcasting Union.
A poster, a banner or a stage screen that borrows the mark counts as a use like any other, and so does artwork built from the show's theme. For a singing contest logo of one's own, the position is simpler: a mark drawn from scratch borrows nothing, and permission only becomes an issue when a design copies a protected mark. Rights holders publish their own terms, and those terms outrank any template downloaded from a design site.
Karaoke rounds and video entries: what the pages show
Karaoke contests turn on the backing track, and the pages read for this guide hold no karaoke contest with a public date, so none is listed. What they do show is how online entry works for singers. The Voice lets prospective singers create a free artist account and audition by video or at a virtual open call, and the William Warfield Scholarship Fund takes first-round electronic auditions. The Singer's Company takes submissions through its platform.
Online karaoke entries on video meet the same clauses as any other file: the organiser fixes the format, and the background rules apply to the recording. An online singing contest free of any charge is a claim to test line by line, since only the artist account at The Voice is described as free, and that says nothing about a later stage. Where a contest's rulebook prints free entry, or an entry fee, that line is the one to copy into notes.
Voting rules printed by Eurovision and the BBC
Eurovision prints the mechanics of its public vote for a TV audience, and those mechanics show what a platform enforces. During the Eurovision Song Contest live shows, votes cast outside the voting window are not counted, though a charge can still apply, and the BBC's terms say the same about votes received outside the specified times. Each vote in the contest is also capped: the 2026 voting page limits users to 10 votes per payment method, while another Eurovision page allows up to 20 votes and lets a payment method be used only once per Live Show.
Junior Eurovision, a contest with an online vote, works differently. The BBC's FAQ says there is no charge or cost to vote online, and voters must cast three different votes in one go in each of the two vote windows. A German query such as song contest voting kosten asks about that cost, and the answer sits on the broadcaster's own voting page, not on a third-party site.
Windows and caps are limits the organiser prints, so they are the first two lines to read before any vote is cast.
Scams and disqualification: what a seller cannot change
A scam around a singing contest shows itself in one move: a seller names a placing in advance. The organiser's count, judging or public vote produces every result, and the limits on that count, such as the window, the cap per payment method and the accepted file format, belong to the organiser's rules. Sellers and listing sites sit outside all of it.
Disqualification is the organiser's decision under its own rules page. The rulebooks read here state their conditions in plain words: a submission received by the printed date, background recordings in the stated format, votes inside the window. No seller or listing site can change one of those conditions after the organiser has printed it.
Where a rulebook is silent, the organiser is the only party who can answer, and the answer belongs in writing.
| Organiser | Date printed | What the date marks |
|---|---|---|
| The Singer's Company | September 30, 2026 | Deadline for submissions received through its platform |
| Pasadena Vocal Competition | October 1, 2026 | Applications open for the 2027 contest |
| William Warfield Scholarship Fund | October 2, 2026 | Due date for first-round electronic auditions |
| YoungArts | October 6, 2026, 8 PM ET | Close of the 2027 voice application |
| Queen Elisabeth Competition | End of October 2026 | Online applications for Voice 2027 begin, exact date to be determined |
| Universal Stars Music Competition | November 14, 2026 | Application deadline for the 20th edition |
Step by step
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Open the organiser's own page
Go to the organiser's application or rules page rather than a repost, and read who runs the contest, who judges or votes, and what an entry requires before anything else.
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Copy the window with its clock
Write the opening or closing date exactly as printed, with the time zone where one is given, such as 8 PM ET for the YoungArts 2027 voice application.
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Match the entry route
Check whether entry is a platform submission, an electronic audition, a video or a virtual open call, because the organisers named here use different routes.
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Prepare the audio to the rulebook
Read the accompaniment clause first (musical background required, songs without accompaniment, or backing tracks with the lead vocal as the only main melody), then prepare the recording in the format it names.
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Read the voting clause before sharing
Where a public vote is part of the result, note the window and the cap per payment method or per person, and keep a dated copy of the organiser's rules page.
Questions
What is a singing competition?
A singing competition is an organised event in which entrants perform or submit vocals and the organiser's rules decide how a result is reached. Entry runs through an organiser's platform, electronic auditions, a video or a virtual open call, and the printed dates fall between September 30 and November 14, 2026.
Is there any singing competition online?
Several singing competitions take entries online. The Singer's Company takes submissions through its platform, the William Warfield Scholarship Fund runs first-round electronic auditions, and The Voice accepts video auditions or a virtual open call after a free artist account is created. The Queen Elisabeth Competition will take online applications for Voice 2027 from the end of October 2026.
How to participate in a singing competition?
Participation starts on the organiser's own application page, which names the route: a platform submission, an electronic audition, a video or a virtual open call. The Singer's Company wants submissions received by September 30, 2026, and YoungArts closes its 2027 voice application on October 6, 2026 at 8 PM ET. The entry fee line, where one is printed, sits on the same page.
Can the Eurovision logo go on a poster for another singing event?
No, not without explicit written permission from the European Broadcasting Union. The Eurovision Song Contest logo is limited to black or white on a sufficiently dark background, and any other usage, commercial or non-commercial, is strictly prohibited without that permission.
Do singing contests allow backing tracks?
Some rulebooks allow backing tracks and others forbid accompaniment altogether. Under the ESC Rules, backing tracks and pre-recorded elements are allowed if the lead vocal stays the only element performing the main melody, while another rulebook requires all songs to be sung without musical accompaniment or instrumental introductions, interludes or conclusions.
What happens to Eurovision votes cast outside the voting window?
Votes cast outside the window in the Eurovision Song Contest are not counted, and a charge can still apply. The BBC's terms for Eurovision voting by call say the same about votes received outside the specified times.
How can a scam around a singing contest be spotted?
A seller who names a placing in advance is the clearest warning sign, because only the organiser's count and rules produce a result. The organiser's own page is the check: it prints the dates, the route, the voting window and, where one exists, the entry fee. The dated organisers read here state no entry fee, so that line is worth reading on each contest's page.
Sources
- thesingerscompany.com. thesingerscompany.com/singers-got-talent-submissions.
- youngarts.org. youngarts.org/discipline/voice/.
- universalstarscompetition.com. universalstarscompetition.com.
- nbcthevoice.com. nbcthevoice.com.
- Eurovision Song Contest. eurovision.tv/mediacentre/logos-and-artwork.
This page cannot enter anyone in a contest, and no seller can set a result in a contest: the organiser's count and rules decide every placing. It lists no contest beyond the six dated organisers in the table and names no place-based list, because the pages read hold none. A vote outside a stated rule is not counted, and disqualification stays with the organiser.
A contest vote sits under two rulebooks, the platform's and the organiser's. On CuteBaby, voters get ten free daily votes that expire at midnight, and an account needs a South African mobile number. Organisers then enforce their own terms: Darley may disqualify and replace a potential winner who does not follow its rules, and the Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition disqualifies over-length entries automatically. An order for contest votes changes none of that.
Contest voting has a rhythm of its own. The Arizona State Fair includes live audience voting on every qualifying night, and the Ernie Ball contest measures online activity throughout its contest period. A count that builds across the window, from separate voters, matches that rhythm. None of this is a method for passing an organiser's checks, and an organiser can still disqualify an entry it doubts.
In the United States, the FTC says a real sweepstakes is free and decided by chance, and that a skills contest can ask you to pay to play. Canada's Competition Bureau says a purchase requirement should be prominently disclosed. Those rules govern entry to a sweepstakes or promotion, and whether paying for votes in a contest is lawful where you live is a question for a lawyer. No order is taken for a sweepstakes or other chance draw, for a political ballot, or for a contest whose rules bar outside votes.
The part of an order that never reaches the contest's own count is refunded once the organiser's voting has closed. America's Favorite Pet calls its dates approximate and lets its operator extend deadlines, so that moment is the organiser's to set. A result, a disqualification and a voided vote are never refunded. At IODC, public votes and engagement do not by themselves decide the winners, and no refund changes how a contest weighs them.