Through the Valley Cover Challenge

The Through the Valley Cover Challenge, also called The Last of Us Part II Musical Challenge (Portuguese: Desafio Musical The Last of Us Parte II), was a musical cover contest held in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands in June 2020 to promote The Last of Us Part II. The contest was hosted by three European divisions of across the participating countries. The rules differ between countries, but, in all cases, participants would preform covers of Shawn James' "Through the Valley", for a chance to win various The Last of Us themed prizes. While not a part of the game's soundtrack, Through the Valley was chosen for the challenge because , voice of Ellie, had previously preformed the song in a trailer for The Last of Us Part II.
== Germany, Austria, Switzerland ==
The cover challenge was announced on the PlayStation Germany Blog on June 4, 2020, and hosted by Sony Interactive Entertainment Deutschland. The contest was also promoted by Tommy Krappweis and Bina Bianca, who combined their individual covers of the song to produce a mashup video. Open to residents aged 18 and older of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the contest ran from June 4 to June 15, 2020. Participants would upload their cover of "Though the Valley" to social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) with #TTVChallenge and #TLOU2 or, alternatively, they could email their recording to siee.win4theplayers@sony.com for a chance to win an Ellie Edition of The Last of Us Part II. The Ellie Edition of the game is normally only available in North America.Behner, Franziska (June 4, 2020). "Die Through the Valley Cover-Challenge – Macht mit!" [The Through the Valley Cover Challenge - Take part!]. PlayStation Blog (in German). Retrieved July 13, 2022.Kalmary, Benjamin (June 4, 2020). "Teilnahmebedingungen für das Through The Valley Challenge Gewinnspiel" [Terms and Conditions for the Through The Valley Challenge Sweepstakes]. PlayStation Blog (in German). Retrieved July 13, 2022. 
In making a cover, participants were encouraged to be creative when recording the instrumentals of the song "Ob auf der Gitarre, dem Klavier, dem Dudelsack oder einem Holzlöffel und drei Töpfen ist egal, der Kreativität sollen keine Grenzen gesetzt sein" [It doesn't matter whether it's on the guitar, the piano, the bagpipes or a wooden spoon and three pots, there should be no limits to creativity]. Participants could also use the instrumentals of Krappweis or Bianca, if they wished to provide only their own vocals.Bianca, Bina (June 4, 2020). "Through the Valley - Mashup + Gewinnspiel (Bina Bianca & Tommy Krappweis)" [Through the Valley - Mashup + Sweepstakes (Bina Bianca & Tommy Krappweis)]. YouTube (in German). Retrieved July 13, 2022. PlayStation also included a tutorial to help participants get started.Behner, Franziska (June 4, 2020). "The Last of Us Part II Community-Challenge Tutorial". PlayStation Blog (in German). Retrieved July 13, 2022.
On June 18, PlayStation Germany released a mashup video including the recordings of many of the participants. They also said that due to the large number of entries, there would raffle off another prize over the weekend.PlayStation Germany [@PlayStationDE] (June 18, 2020). "Die PlayStation-Community hat etwas Großartiges geleistet und uns unglaublich kreative Cover im Rahmen der #TTVChallenge geliefert." [The PlayStation community has done something amazing and provided us with incredibly creative covers as part of the #TTVChallenge.] (in German) (Tweet). Retrieved June 26, 2022. On June 20, it was revealed that three special The Last of Us Part II edition Taylor GS Mini guitars would be raffled off to participants.PlayStation Germany [@PlayStationDE] (June 20, 2020). "Verlost werden 3 Exemplare dieser limitierten #TheLastofUsPartII GS Mini Gitarre." [3 copies of this limited #TheLastofUsPartII GS mini guitar will be raffled.] (in German) (Tweet). Retrieved June 26, 2022.
== Portugal ==
The contest was announced on June 9, 2020, by PlayStation Portugal on their Instagram and Twitter accountsPlayStation Portugal [@playstationpt] (June 9, 2020). "Inspira-te na musicalidade de Ellie e do @DiogoPicarra e habilita-te a ganhar uma Edição Especial do The Last of Us Parte II e um Meet & Greet online único com o músico português!" [Get inspired by the musicality of Ellie and @DiogoPicarra and win a Special Edition of The Last of Us Part II and a unique online Meet & Greet with the Portuguese musician!]. Instagram (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 13, 2022.PlayStation Portugal [@PlayStationPT] (June 9, 2020). "@DiogoPicarra inspirou-se em Ellie e criou uma incrível versão do tema "Through the Valley"! 🎸🔥" [@DiogoPicarra was inspired by Ellie and created an amazing version of the theme "Through the Valley"! 🎸🔥] (in Portuguese) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022. and promoted by famous Portuguese singer on his Instagram account, where he uploaded his own cover of the song.Piçarra, Diogo [@diogopicarra] (June 9, 2020). "Ganha uma Edição Especial do jogo "The Last of Us Parte II" e um Meet & Greet online comigo com estes passos" [Win a Special Edition of "The Last of Us Part II" game and an online Meet & Greet with me with these steps]. Instagram (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 13, 2022. 
In order to enter the contest, participants first had to follow PlayStation Portugal (@PlayStationPT) on Instagram and then recorded a cover, including vocals and guitar, of "Through the Valley". The recording, trimmed to 1 minute or less, then had to be posted to Instagram; tagging PlayStation Portugal and including the hashtag #DesafioTheLastofUsParteII in the post. The contest was open until midnight on June 15, with two winners being select by Piçarra on June 18.
On June 18, at the Portuguese launch event for The Last of Us Part II, Piçarra announced the two winners: Daniel Vargas and Maria Castro. Each winner received a Special Edition of The Last of Us Part II and an invitation to a meet and greet with Piçarra.PlayStation Portugal (June 18, 2020). "MODO PlayStation LIVE - THE LAST OF US PARTE II | ASSISTE E GANHA PRÉMIOS!". YouTube (in Portuguese). Retrieved July 13, 2022. On June 19, PlayStation Portugal announced that over 100 people had participated in the contest and released mashup video of many of the covers on Twitter.PlayStation Portugal [@PlayStationPT] (June 19, 2020). "Estamos sem palavras com o talento dos mais de 100 participantes" [We are speechless with the talent of the more than 100 participants] (in Portuguese) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022.
== Belgium and Netherlands ==
A contest hosted by Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited, was announced by PlayStation Belgium on June 16, 2020, via TwitterPlayStation België [@PlayStationBE] (June 16, 2020). "Na Ellie hebben ook Tinne Oltmans & Juan Gerlo een prachtige cover gemaakt van 'Through the Valley'." [After Ellie, Tinne Oltmans & Juan Gerlo also made a beautiful cover of 'Through the Valley'.] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022., and later by PlayStation Netherlands on June 24, also via Twitter.PlayStation Netherlands [@PlayStationNL] (June 24, 2020). "Na Ellie en Eefje de Visser heeft ook Yuki een prachtige cover gemaakt van 'Through the Valley' van Shawn James." [After Ellie and Eefje de Visser, Yuki also made a beautiful cover of Shawn James' 'Through the Valley'.] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022. Within Belgium, the contest was promoted by musicians Tinne Oltmans and Juan Gerlo, whose cover was included in the PS Belgium announcement tweet. And in the Netherlands it was promoted by Dutch singer and songwriter Eefje de Visser, whose cover was included in PS Netherlands announcement tweet.
To enter the contest, participants would record and uploaded their own covers of "Through the Valley" including the hashtags #TLOUIICoverband and #TheLastofUsPartII for the chance to win either a The Last of Us Part II Taylor 314ce guitar (winner) or a The Last of Us Part II Taylor GS Mini (runner-up).PlayStation België [@PlayStationBE] (June 16, 2020). "1. Reageer in de comments met een video van jouw versie van Through the Valley met #TLOUIICoverband en #TheLastofUsPartII" [1. Comment in the comments with a video of your version of Through the Valley with #TLOUIICoverband and #TheLastofUsPartII] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022.PlayStation Netherlands [@PlayStationNL] (June 24, 2020). "1. Maak een video van jouw versie van Through the Valley met #TLOUIICoverband en #TheLastofUsPartII" [1. Make a video of your version of Through the Valley with #TLOUIICoverband and #TheLastofUsPartII] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022. The winner and runner-up were announced on July 13, with Jeroen Jaspers selected as the winnerPlayStation België [@PlayStationBE] (July 13, 2020). "Gefeliciteerd Jeroen Jaspers" [Congratulations Jeroen Jaspers] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022.
PlayStation Netherlands [@PlayStationNL] (July 13, 2020). "Gefeliciteerd Jeroen Jaspers" [Congratulations Jeroen Jaspers] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022. and Andy Fontyn as the runner-up.PlayStation België [@PlayStationBE] (July 13, 2020). "Dan hebben we nog de *awesome* runner-up. Thanks Andy Fontyn voor je fantastische cover van ‘Through the Valley’ én de prachtige video." [Then we have the *awesome* runner-up. Thanks Andy Fontyn for your fantastic cover of 'Through the Valley' and the beautiful video.] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022.PlayStation Netherlands [@PlayStationNL] (July 13, 2020). "Dan hebben we nog de *awesome* runner-up. Thanks Andy Fontyn voor je fantastische cover van ‘Through the Valley’ én de prachtige video." [Then we have the *awesome* runner-up. Thanks Andy Fontyn for your fantastic cover of 'Through the Valley' and the beautiful video.] (in Dutch) (Tweet). Retrieved July 2, 2022.
== References ==
Category:Contests