Indie Artists’ Dreams Come True! The World’s Largest Indie Live Contest for Outdoor Festival Performances in Germany. Emergenza Japan 2026 – The World’s Largest Indie Live Contest – is now accepting applications from artists!

The Emergenza Japan Office, hosted by the EMERGENZA INTERNATIONAL BOARD and operated by Windgate Corporation and HEADLINE, has officially opened applications for Emergenza Japan 2026.

This live contest supports Japanese musicians aiming to expand overseas, offering them a unique chance to take their music to the world stage.

Call for Artists Flyer

What is EMERGENZA?

EMERGENZA Japan 2026 is one of the world’s largest independent live contests, open to both professionals and amateurs, and run by the EMERGENZA INTERNATIONAL BOARD.

Win the Japan competition, and you’ll qualify for the World Final at the legendary Taubertal Festival in Rothenburg, Germany. ✈️ All travel and accommodation expenses are fully covered by Emergenza. The World Final winner will perform on the main stage, where top global artists gather, and receive additional prestigious prizes. This stage has hosted world-class acts such as The Offspring and YUNGBLUD—a true rite of passage for rising stars.

Currently held in 15+ countries worldwide, Emergenza boasts a history of over 30 years globally and 17 years in Japan. It is truly a “Japan-based, world-connected” contest, opening the door to the global stage for indie artists with international ambitions.

2023 World Finals Main Stage

Purpose of the Event

This event is one of the few music festival-type contests in Japan that directly connects independent artists to overseas festivals. The global music scene is currently undergoing a shift in which good artists are being directly introduced to the world beyond the framework of the past, transcending national borders. Emergenza aims to open up new possibilities in the Japanese music scene and build a musical bridge "from Japan to the world". "Japan must not miss out on the world!" We want to send talented artists from Japan directly to the world! This strong desire is the driving force behind Emergenza.

Past Results

In the 2025 competition, LiberaMe was the runner-up in the world finals (2nd place in the world) and showed a strong Japanese presence on the big stage. They were cheered enthusiastically by the German audience. The year before, in 2023, TRAinnovation, a unit fusing Japanese instruments, violin, and EDM, won the world's top prize, representing Japan. As such, artists representing Japan have won top prizes at the world finals every year and have been well received by audiences overseas.

In addition, many major artists have been produced from past performers, making this event a focus of attention from the music industry. In fact, SNARE COVER, which won the Best Singer Award at the World Finals in 2017 as Japan's representative, made its major debut in 2023 and is active on TV and in live performances. ulma sound junction, which placed third in the world in 2019, also made its major debut and is responsible for many TV anime OP theme songs. Many more performers are also successful as artists.

Overseas, the Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz, known for their worldwide hit song "Am I Wrong," is another group of artists who have made great strides from Emergenza. The Emergenza Japan will celebrate its 17th season in 2026, and has grown to a scale where more than 200 bands/artists participate each year, mainly in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.

In addition, many high-quality live videos of artists who have participated in past competitions are available on the official Emergenza Japan YouTube channel. This is one of the most extensive video archives in the indie music world, allowing anyone to view the excitement of the competition and the high level of performance.

2025 Japan Final

TRAinnovation, Japan's representative at the Emergenza 2023 World Finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYGZllOwP-s

Japan's representative at the Emergenza 2025 Japan Final, LiberaMe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfmYr-cDr78

Features and Advantages of Participation

Global-scale contest: A global live contest that will be held in more than 15 countries around the world. If you win, you will get the right to perform at a large festival in Germany, which will be a great stepping stone for your global expansion.

Audience Voting + Fair Evaluation by Professional Jury: The preliminary and semi-final rounds will be held in a tournament format, with audience QR voting only (*Online voting will be used in the Tokyo and Japan finals). In the Japan finals, the votes of the professional judges will be added to the audience votes to determine the overall winner.

Equal Opportunity: There is no pre-screening of sound sources and no ticket quota, making entry easy. Anyone with at least one original song and the ability to perform live on stage is welcome to try out, regardless of genre, age, nationality, or professional/amateur status.

Winning artists will receive full support for travel and accommodation expenses to participate in the world competition, and the artists selected for the finals will receive a variety of other benefits, including an appearance on the outdoor stage hosted by the German Embassy, rights to play the theme song for a TV program, DTM software and recording rights, radio performance rights, and more. DTM software, recording rights, radio performance rights, and more.

Live Schedule (2025-2026)

Preliminary rounds [Tokyo]: December 2025 - March 2026 (12 performances planned)

Preliminary Round [Osaka]: January - March 2026 (SSW* category: 4 performances, BAND category: 6 performances)

Semifinals [Tokyo]: April - May, 2026 (Shibuya eggman)

Semifinals [Osaka]: May 2026 (Abeno ROCKTOWN)

Regional Finals [Osaka]: June 27, 2026 (Sat) at Shinsaibashi JANUS (tentative)

Japan Final: July 11, 2026 (Sat) at duo MUSIC EXCHANGE, Shibuya

World Finals: Thursday, August 6 - Sunday, August 9, 2026 at Taubertal Festival, Germany

*Only the Osaka competition will be divided into the SSW = singer/songwriter category (solo or solo performance, etc.) and the BAND category (band formation).

How to enter

Entries are now being accepted from the official website. Please fill in the necessary information (cell phone number, e-mail address, etc.) and submit the form from the "Entry Here" page. After that, the date of performance will be decided in an online or face-to-face meeting with the secretariat, and entry will be completed upon payment of the entry fee[25][26] (* entry fee: 12,000 yen per couple, 6,000 yen for the Osaka SSW division). There is no additional cost for entry, no ticket quota, and no sound source submission for pre-screening[26]. For details, please visit the official website.

Official website and SNS

Japan Competition official website: https://emergenzajapan.site

World Convention official website: https://emergenza.live

X ： https://x.com/EMERGENZAJAPAN

Instagram ： https://www.instagram.com/emergenzajapan/

Facebook ： https://www.facebook.com/emergenza.japan/

YouTube ： https://www.youtube.com/@emergenzajapan

TikTok ： https://www.tiktok.com/@emergenza_japan