Archive for category: Australia

A while ago, more songs of the national selection process of Australia “Australia Decides 2022″, have been released. As the artists themselves have been teasing from their social media platforms for a while now, their songs were to be released today.

The song of Isaiah and Evie is already out on YouTube and the ones of Jaguar and PAULINI are already out in New Zealand and you can listen to all of them below:

• Isaiah Firebrace, Evie Irie – When I’m With You

• Jaguar Jonze – LITTLE FIRES

• Paulini – We Are One

Who is Isaiah Firebrace

Isaiah Firebrace first shot to fame when he won The X Factor in 2016 and grabbed global attention for his #1 single It’s Gotta Be You, which is certified Platinum in Australia, 2 x Platinum in Sweden, Platinum in Norway and Gold in Denmark and has now been streamed over 280 million times.

He represented Australia as the first Indigenous Australian and third ever competing Australian contestant at the Eurovision Song Contest (finishing in the top 10) and features on many high-profile television events, including The Masked Singer Australia 2020.

Isaiah is highly engaged in the fashion world, having worked with some incredible brands over the past two years and will be performing at Melbourne Fashion Week in 2021.

Who is Evie Irie

Evie Irie, born in 2002, is an Australian pop singer and songwriter from the Central Coast, New South Wales. She released her debut extended play 5 Weeks in LA in 2019 through Republic Records, after travelling to the United States to pursue becoming a singer. In 2020, she released the EPs “The Optimist” and “The Pessimist”, and collaborated with producer Dillon Francis on the song “Be Somebody“.

Hailing from just outside of Sydney, Irie started performing in area cafés and restaurants at a young age, writing her own songs from the age of 12. She turned to the life experiences of her older sister for material on some of her earliest material. In her mid-teens, in lieu of doing an exchange program like many of her friends, her parents agreed she should take some time off to visit Los Angeles (and, ultimately, New York and Nashville) to take writing sessions and shop labels.

Irie not only found interest in her songs in the U.S. but reportedly started a bidding war in Los Angeles that ultimately led to her signing with Republic Records. She was 16 years old when they released her first EP, “5 Weeks in LA”, in mid-2019. Irie opened shows for the likes of Sigrid and Bastille before returning with “Over Him” and “Worst Enemy” in early 2020. Her sophomore EP, The Optimist, arrived later that fall.

Who is PAULINI

PAULINI has been heralded as one of the finest vocalists and performers to come out of Australia. The Fijian born songstress rose to fame through television screens on the very first season of Australian Idol which thrust her into the spotlight. Making it through to the final four, she won the hearts of a nation with her angelic, five octave range, and engaging personality.

Post Idol, PAULINI rose to the top of the Australian ARIA Charts in 2004 with her debut Platinum album ‘One Determined Heart’ and her Platinum smash single ‘Angel Eyes’, both hitting the #1 spot and receiving Aria Number 1 Chart Awards (‘Angel Eyes’ remained at the top of the charts for 6 consecutive weeks). In fact, PAULINI is still 1 of only 10 Australian female solo artists to have a #1 album debut on the Australian ARIA Charts.

Who is Jaguar Jonze

There is nothing predictable about the remarkable rise of the artist Jaguar Jonze. Her success stems from hard work and her pure creative vision, with WHO DIED AND MADE YOU KING the latest step in cementing her position in the cultural landscape.

As the public artist voice of the Australian #MeToo movement, Jaguar Jonze has appeared on The Project, triple j’s Hack, The Guardian and in numerous news pieces as she strives to create meaningful change in the music industry. A true advocate, Jaguar Jonze’s commitment to getting results for survivors in an industry which has ignored reports of harassment and assault has seen her join a working group of industry professionals to build and enforce behavioural guidelines and victim support strategies in the workplace. Her latest musical work will sit alongside her photography and visual art as another reason this truly unique and iconic artist cannot be ignored.

Already known song titles

Mid of January, in a previous article we had reported that the first song titles for Australia Decides 2022 had been revealed, as some candidates had announced the title of their songs that will compete to represent Australia in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Some of the song titles already revealed prior to the release of the actual song are:

• Seann Miley Moore – My Body
• Charley – I Suck At Being Lonely
• Sheldon Riley – Not the Same

Known acts competing at Australia Decides 2022

Eleven acts will compete to be the next Australian Eurovision representative.  The participants for the next Australia Decides are:

1. Isaiah Firebrace, Evie Irie – When I’m With You
2. Jaguar Jonze – LITTLE FIRES
3. Paulini – We Are One
4. Andrew Lambrou
5. Sheldon Riley
6. G-Nat! Ion.
7. Sean Miley Moore
8. Voyager Australia – Dreamer
9. Charley
10. Jude York – I Won’t Need to Dream

The process

The eleven acts will compete at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Center on February 26 to represent Australia at Eurovision 2022. Australian broadcaster SBS decided to use Australia Decides as their national final after the success of  their national final.

Radio producer and presenter Myf Warhurst and comedian Joel Creasey will present the Australian national final.  Moreover, Creasey will be the SBS Eurovision commentator in May 2022.

Montaigne won the most recent edition of Australia Decides with the song “Don’t break me”.  Unfortunately her entry could not participate in Eurovision due to the cancellation of the competition in 2020.

She represented Australia in 2021 with “Technicolour”. You can watch her 2021 performance in the video embedded below: