B 3

B3 is the third edition of B, Burkina Baso’s national selection for the Own Africavision Song Contest 9.

History
Radio Télévision du Burkina first announced back in January of 2021 that a national selection would take place to select the artist and song for the Own Africavision Song Contest 6 for Burkina Faso, the format was still unknown at this point as little information was revealed during this announcement.On 29th March 2021, RTB announced that 4 songs would be participating in the inaugural selection, where international juries will be able to determine the winner of the selection.

Emy won the first edition with "Inconvenient”, and placed 13th in the final. B was axed for one edition due to the costs involving the continuation of the contest. However, once Alicia Awa placed 6th in the Own Africavision Song Contest 7, a return of B was likely due to Burkina Faso earning an automatic spot in the final of Own Africavision Song Contest 8. On the 6th of August 2021, RTB confirmed that B would return, with a new refreshed logo and design.

Location
Further information on the country: Burkina Faso

Host City
Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 903,887 (as of 2019); it is the second largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula".

The local Bobo-speaking population (related to the Mande) refers to the city simply as Sia. There are two distinct dialects spoken of Jula, based on the origins of different peoples who speak this language. The city is situated in the southwest of the country, in the Houet Province, some 350 km (220 mi) from Ouagadougou. Bobo-Dioulasso is significant both economically (agricultural trade, textile industry) and culturally, as it is a major center of culture and music.

Venue
The Stade Général Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana is a multi-use stadium in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, used mostly for football matches. The stadium hosted several matches during the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations. The stadium holds 30,000 people.

Voting
The voting for B is relatively straightforward in terms of points. All nations in the Own African Union of Broadcasting are invited to cast their votes in order to create a result for the artists who are in contention to represent Burkina Faso in the Own Africavision Song Contest. Depending on the number of participants each edition, the scores will change slightly - but the main principles remain the same. Likewise to OAfSC, the 12 points from the jury will go to the juries favourite act of the night, followed by 10 for 2nd place, 8 for 3rd and so on until there is no points left to give (the minimum points will vary depending on the number of acts, for example in B1 the lowest possible score a jury could give was 7 since there was 4 participants, whereas in B2 the lowest score possible was 6 since there was 5 participants in the edition.) After the votes have been given, RTB will add the scores up in the form of a scoreboard and this shall decide the winner of the contest.

Participants
On the 12th October 2021, RTB announced the 4 candidates who will be presenting their song for the third edition of B, to potentially represent Burkina Faso at the 9th Own Africavision Song Contest in Mali. This was also revealed along side the running order for the competition. Alicia Awa was the first act announced, who represented Burkina Faso at the 7th Own Africavision Song Contest, as well as being a competition in B2, where she placed 2nd. Then followed by Awa Lemen, Hawa and Songø. RTB stated the songs as well as the official recap for the show will be revealed straight after the contestant announcements, and this was then followed with the voting process being open. B was so popular among the other countries that 4 countries will reveal their entries during B them being Ghana, Malawi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.

Final
The final took place on the October 2021, in which 4 acts will perform their entries and the international African juries will vote by giving 12, 10 and 8, 7 points to their favourite acts. The winner would be crowned and submitted as the Burkinabé representative for the Own Africavision Song Contest 9.