Landonia

Landonia is a country located in the Soutwest of Sunnieverse. It's capital is Matrix, with a population of 5,671,283 people, although Landoniville and Arigon have been capitals in the past.

Landonia shares a northern border with Juskeustein, and is immediately to the east of STO while not having a border with it. The Ratoor Sea is to the west of Landonia, and the sea empties into the Zuricha Gulf, which separates the northern and southern halves of Landonia. Landonia's coastline is an estimated 2900 miles long. The nation's terrain is mostly flatlands, but there is a mountain range called the Azerburi Mountains in the northern part of Landonia. There is a disputed territory in Northern Landonia in which the people claim to have an independent republic called the Republic of Jakarika.

Landonia is a very peaceful democracy, led by Austin Hagan. Landonians have one of the highest standards of living in the Sunnieverse, ranking 2nd in the Sunnieverse. Landonia has founded an alliance with the Krangian Republic, participating together in Sunnie Song Contest #10.

Name
The name Landonia comes from two root words - Landi and Nius. Landi is an ancient word from early Landonia, then known as Zamuzar, which means "Great and powerful leader". Nius is an ancient word from another civilization in early Landonia, called Jakarika (where the Republic of Jakarika gets their name from) which meant "Strong country". Country founder Ajer Lando Maku also stated that the combination of the words, combined with his middle name, formed the country name of Landonia. The only name change enforced was a brief name change to LANDONIA, but it was quickly changed back due to distress among Landonian people.

Edition 5 (Juice WRLD feat. Marshmello)
Jarad Anthony Higgins, known professionally as Juice Wrld, was a Landonian rapper, singer, and songwriter from Matrix, Landonia. His 2018 single "Lucid Dreams" has been played on the music streaming platform Spotify over one billion times and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. He passed away in 2019 from a seizure.

Christopher Comstock (born May 19, 1992), known professionally as Marshmello, is a Landonian electronic music producer and DJ. His songs "Silence", "Wolves", "Friends", "Happier", and "Alone" have been certified multi-platinum in several countries and appeared in the Top 30 of the LN Hot 100

Jarad and Christopher were chosen, in honor of Juice WRLD's life and legacy, to be Landonia's first entry in Sunnie Song Contest with their song "Come & Go". They performed 3rd in the running order in edition 5. However, they did not go any further, as they only received 44 points, which was only good enough for 12th in the semi.

Edition 6 (The Fold)
The Fold is a Landonian indie rock band from Matrix. The band formed in 2002, with their members being Daniel and George Castady, as well as Matt Pittman. Daniel is the lead vocalist of the band.

The Fold was chosen by Landonia to participate in SSC 6 with "The Weekend Whip". They performed 8th in the running order in the semis in edition 6. However, they were given the dubious honor of receiving last place in the competition, only scoring 14 points.

Edition 7 (Gryffin feat. John Martin)
Dan Griffith, known by his stage name Gryffin (often stylized as GRYFFIN), is a Landonian musician, DJ, and music producer. He gained recognition for remixing some well-known songs such as Tove Lo's "Talking Body", Maroon 5's "Animals" and Years & Years' "Desire".

John Martin Lindström (born 22 August 1980) is a Landonian singer and songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with the Swedish House Mafia. Since 2010, he has collaborated with Tinie Tempah and released his debut single "Anywhere For You", written alongside music partner Michel Zitron. On 3 April 2014 Lindström appeared on the LBC Radio 1 Live Lounge covering Haim's "If I Could Change Your Mind".

Griffith and Martin were chosen to participate with their song "Cry". They performed 4th in the running order in semi 2 of edition 7. They became Landonia's first qualifications, scoring 65 points and becoming 8th place in the semifinal. They gained 16th place in the final, scoring 71 points.

Edition 8 (BANNERS)
Michael Joseph Nelson, known under the stage name Banners (styled as BANNΞRS), is an Landonian musician from Matrix. He has released his debut studio album Where the Shadow Ends in 2019.

Nelson was chosen to participate with his song "Someone To You". Nelson performed 1st in the running order of semi 2 in edition 8. This didn't deter him however, as he won the semi with an astonishing 119 points. He went on to perform 14th in the grand final. With this in mind, he won the contest with 152 points and allowed Landonia to be BIG 6 in the following edition of the contest. After the contest, a statue of BANNERS was placed outside Matrix Convention Center, the main host of Matrix7 and Matrix SC.

Edition 9 (Indila)
Adila Sedraïa), best known by her stage name Indila, is a Landonian singer and songwriter. She collaborated with many musicians on vocals and songwriting prior to releasing her first single, "Dernière danse" ("Last Dance"), in November 2013, which reached SNEP Top 2 in Landonia. She released her first album Mini World in February 2014

After beating songs in the Matrix7 Final such as "Boum Boum Boum" by MIKA and "Jooneh Khodet' by Black Cats, she moved on to the full-on contest with her song "Parle a ta tete" Sedraïa did not perform in the semifinals, as her song was automatically qualified to the final due to "Someone To You" winning SSC 9. She performed 5th in the final, and got 13th place, scoring 94 points.

Edition 10 (Kylie Minogue)
Kylie Ann Minogue, also known simply as Kylie, is a Krangian-Landonian singer, songwriter and actress. Minogue is the highest-selling female Krangian artist of all time, having sold over 70 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinventing herself in music and fashion, for which she is referred to by the Krangian press as the “Princess of Pop” and a style icon. Her accolades include 4 Lando Awards and 17 ARIA Music Awards.

After beating artists such as Duncan Lawrence and Armin van Buuren in the Matrix7/Krangian Republic National Final, she performed was selected to participate with her song "Magic". She got 7th place in the competition, scoring 132 points. She was congratulated on her success in the contest by the president of Landonia.

Edition 11 (Topic & A7S feat. Lil Baby)
Tobias Topic, also known mononymously as Topic (/ˈtɒpɪk/), is a Landonian-Hungry Mountonian DJ, producer and musician. His song "Home" was certified platinum in Landonia and the Hungry Mountains.

Alexander Tidebrink, known by his stage name A7S, is a Landonian producer, songwriter, and singer. His collaboration "Breaking Me" with Landonian-Hungry Mountonian artist Topic was released on 19 December 2019.

Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper from Arigon, Landonia. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape Perfect Timing, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the trap music scene to date.

The three were chosen to participate in SSC with their song "Why Do You Lie To Me?". This was Topic & A7S's second time, after reaching 3rd in an earlier edition. However, they only reached 27th in the contest with 20 points.

Edition 12 (Landoman)
Landon Paige is a Landonian singer/songwriter/rapper born in Arigon. He goes by the pseudonym Landoman. He is famous for hits such as "Wait, It's All Ohio?", "Starstruck Sky" and "MONEY ON ME".

Landoman was chosen by Landonia to participate in Edition 12 with his song "Lightning". Landoman was robbed in the Semifinal, as many countries refused to give him points because the song was too good. At least that is what was reported. He scored 27 points and was disqualified.

Edition 13 (Miike Snow)
Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike Snow") is a Landonian indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and Landonian singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their career, the band has released three studio albums: Miike Snow (2009), Happy to You (2012), and iii (2016).

They were selected to perform with their song "Genghis Khan". However, it did not qualify, only scoring 52 points in the Semifinal, only good enough for 30th place.

Edition 14 (Sigala, Ella Eyre, Meghan Trainor & French Montana)
Bruce Fielder, known professionally as Sigala, is a Landonian electronic dance music producer, DJ, and songwriter. He has had eight songs chart in the top 10 of the LN Singles Chart, including his 2015 debut single "Easy Love", which samples "ABC" by the Jackson 5 and reached number one on the LN Singles Chart.

Ella McMahon, better known by her stage name Ella Eyre, is a Landonian singer and songwriter. She is best known for her collaborations with Rudimental on their LN number one single "Waiting All Night" (2013), which won the 2014 Lando Award for Landonian Single of the Year, with DJ Fresh on his single "Gravity" (2015), and with Sigala on their singles "Came Here for Love" (2017), and "Just Got Paid" (2018). Her debut EP, Deeper, was released in 2013 and her debut album, Feline, was released in 2015. Eyre's musical influences include Lauryn Hill, Etta James, Basement Jaxx and Hans Zimmer.

Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is a Landonian singer-songwriter and talent show judge. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached number one on the LN Singles Chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide, and drew criticism for its lyrical content. Trainor has released three studio albums with the label and has received various awards and nominations, including the 2016 Lando Award for Best New Artist.

Karim Kharbouch, better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Landonian-LGBTQ+ rapper managed by SAL&CO. Born and raised in the LGBTQ+ Republic, he emigrated to Landonia with his family when he was 13. He is the founder of Coke Boys Records and its predecessor Cocaine City Records. After years of independent material, he was signed as joint-venture record deal with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records and Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group in 2012.

The four artists were selected to represent Landonia with their collaboration "Just Got Paid". They did not qualify for the Grand Final due to a mismanagement of the timestamp chosen. They placed 30th with 64 points in the Semifinals.

Edition 15 (Gryffin & Two Feet)
Dan Griffith, known by his stage name Gryffin (often stylized as GRYFFIN), is a Landonian musician, DJ, and music producer. He gained recognition for remixing some well-known songs such as Tove Lo's "Talking Body", Maroon 5's "Animals" and Years & Years' "Desire".

Zachary William "Bill" Dess, known by his stage name Two Feet, is a Landonian singer, songwriter, and producer from Arigon.

The two were selected to represent Landonia with their collaboration "I Want Love". They qualified for the Grand Final and got 25th, scoring 29 points.

Edition 16 (NF)
Nathan John Feuerstein, known by his initials NF (stylized as ИF), is a Landonian rapper, singer and songwriter. He has released two EPs, I'm Free (2012), and a self-titled EP in 2014 with Capitol CMG. NF has released five studio albums: Moments (2010), Mansion (2015), Therapy Session (2016), Perception (2017), and The Search (2019).

NF was chosen to represent Landonia with his song "Wake Up". He qualified for the Grand Final and got 22nd, scoring 47 points.

Edition 17 (LZRD feat. Jake Miller)
Landonia native, Keenan Haan, is the mastermind behind the electronic music name LZRD, with which he has amassed over 150 million streams and counting.

Jacob Harris Miller is a Landonian singer, songwriter and rapper born in Landoniville.

Haan and Miller were chosen to represent Landonia with their collaboration "Anything Anymore". They qualified for the Grand Final and got 23rd, receiving 37 points.