Australia: Interview with Sheldon Riley | From The Voice Australia to pouring his heart out on Australia Decides 2022!

After being chosen for this year’s national final, Australia Decides 2022, Sheldon Riley speaks exclusively to EurovisionFun and Apostolos Bogiannos and Apostolis Matamis.

Sheldon is one of the finalists for Australia’s national final for Eurovision 2022 and will try to represent his country with the song “Not the Same”

I’m a big fan of Eurovision from when I was a kid and i always wanted to be part of it, and the national final is the first step to represent my country. It’s the right time. i wrote this song a few years ago. The lyrics reflect how I evolved and reached the point I am right now. It was not written for Eurovision from the beginning, it was a personal song I always wanted to sing. When the submissions on SBS were open, I felt that it was right to submit the song and I didn’t want to make any changes.  

Known for his spectacular appearances, Sheldon talked about his thoughts on his appearance in the national final:

It will be something big, if you have seen me in the past, I draw inspiration from James Bond. It will be cinematic and pretty dark. Music and staging will mix together perfectly. I am excited about my performance.

Sheldon can’t wait for the competition while he want to listen the other competing songs. He considers himself to be his greater enemy.

Eurovision is a childhood dream, as well as him taking part in The Voice Australia, he wants to not only take part in a competition but the presentation of a song in total using the creativity that comes from him.

His favorite Australian contestant is Dami Im (2016). While from the competition in general, the participants that stand out for him are Barbara Pravi (France 2021) and Conchita Wurst (Austria 2014)

I wanted to start singing thanks to Amy Winehouse, I wanted to start writing music thanks to Adele and I wanted to start presenting something on stage like Lady Gaga. With my participations on The Voice Australia and America’s Got Talent I wanted to offer myself to the world. I am already known in Europe, America and Asia.

Not the Same” will be available on February 15.

Watch the whole exclusive interview of Sheldon Riley in the following video:

Australia: Interview with Andrew Lambrou | From Music School, to X-Factor and then Australia Decides 2022!

Andrew Lambrou is among the contestants who are trying to represent Australia in Eurovision Song Contest 2022! The singer talked exclusively with EurovisionFun and Andreas Papayiannakis abot this journey.

Andrew is among the contestants of Australia Decides for Eurovision 2022 and he will do his best to represent Australia in Eurovision 2022 with the song “Electrify“.

“I wrote this song together with three of my friends a long time ago. I love Greek and general European music and I will love to combine it with my personal sound. I have been watching Eurovision my whole life and the song wasn’t meant to be for the contest at first but I had a vision that it could do for Eurovison and I always had that in the back of my head. First of all, I talked with my label and my family. My father adviced me to do it. So I decided to send it SBS and everything happened very quickly. It’s amazing that I’m in this position right now. I’m very happy with peoples’ reaction from the snippet I released and I really wish that they will love it, I want to put on a smile on their faces!”

When he first started his career, he took part in the Australian edition of X-Factor and now he’s part of Australia Decides:

“Music is in my blood. I’m very happy because I knew what I wanted since I was five years old. Music is part of my life since forever. It’s a way of me being creative. All the experiences I had with music, starting from Music School and then Australia Decides and possibly in Eurovision,they were all amazing.All of them have been stages of my life to make me come here and I’m very gratefull for all those experiences”

Andrew said that it’s an awesome feeling imagining himself in the Eurovision stage because the contest is a great way to communicate many different type of music styles from many countries, many languages to be heard all over the world and he would feel really grateful if we would manage to win Australia Decides.

He also talked about his stage perfomance on the national final:

“We are preparing everything that we will be doing with the staging. I’m very into visual effects and I’m trying to visualize everything I have in my mind. I can’t say much but it will be something original and amusing for the viewers. Of course there will be a choreography

His favorite Australian entry is Guy Sebastian(2015).From Eurovision, his favorite entries are Marija Šerifović (Serbia 2007), Helena Paparizou (Greece 2005), Loreen (Sweden 2012), Conchita Wurst (Austria 2014), SunStroke Project & Olia Tira (Moldova 2010), Lordi (Finland 2006) και Eleni Foureira (Cyprus2018).

Andrew also sang a part of his song “Electrify for us and you can hear it at the end of the video.

EurovisionFun wishes all the best of luck to Andrew Lambrou!

Australia: Australia Decides TikTok wildcard has been revealed!

Back in December, SBS launched a national TikTok contest to find the next Australia Decides artist to join the 2022 line up on the Gold Coast.

Participants were to audition by posting a video on the platform using the #EurovisionAustralia hashtag. The #EurovisionAustralia hashtag had garnered over 33 million views on TikTok with a lot of Aussies submitting their videos online and the winner was unveiled by SBS today! Their name was announced a while ago and it is Erica Padilla.

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 – Electrify
  5. Sheldon Riley –  Not the Same
  6. G-Nat!on
  7. Sean Miley Moore – My Body
  8. Voyager Australia – Dreamer
  9. Charley –I Suck At Being Lonely
  10. Jude York – I Won’t Need to Dream
  11. Erica Padilla 

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoUTzNXQud0&feature=emb_title

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding the Australia Decides and the Australian entry for Eurovision 2022!
Source: SBS

Australia: Listen to the newly released songs, competing at Australia Decides 2022!

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 MooreMy Body
  • CharleyI 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:

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding the Australia Decides and the Australian entry for Eurovision 2022!
Source: SBS

Eurovision 2022: Here are the results of the allocation draw!

The Semi-Final Allocation Draw for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 took place in Palazzo Madama in Turin. Find out below in which of the 2 Semi-Finals your country will perform and vote in. The annual event was hosted by Carolina di Domenico and Mario Acampa.

The Semi-Final Allocation Draw and Host City Insignia Exchange are key milestones on the path to the Eurovision Song Contest each year.

During the ceremony, Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam, passed on the Host City Insignia to Stefano Lo Russo, Mayor of Turin. The insignia key chain, weighing over 30 kilograms with the new addition of Rotterdam’s insignia, was handed over to Turin. The Italian city is now officially the Host City of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

Draw Procedure

The 36 countries competing in the semifinals were divided into six pots, based on the points they have exchanged in recent years. This is done in order to avoid, as much as possible, the alliances and bloc voting that appear every year in the voting.

Allocation Pots

Big 5

With the host Italy, directly in the final, along with the rest of the Big 5 (UK, France, Germany, Spain), the first part of the draw determined the semifinal that the direct finalists will vote.

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • France
  • Italy

Will vote in the 2nd Semi-Final:

  • Spain
  • Germany
  • United Kingdom

Their performance in the dress rehearsal will be shown in the semifinals where the six aforementioned countries were drawn to broadcast and vote. This was done at Eurovision 2016 for the first time, for reasons of equal visibility of the countries that are directly in the final and the countries that compete in the semifinals. Essentially, viewers watch each entry twice during the shows.

Allocation Draw

The draw of the countries for the two semifinals had two parts. In the first part, the 36 countries that participate in the semifinals, were drawn in which of the two will compete. 18 countries will compete in both the first and the second semifinal.

In the second part each country found out if it will appear in the first or in the second half of the semifinal that will compete. The exact order of appearance will be determined by the EBU and the producers of the show at a later time.

First Semi-Final (10 May):

1st Half

  • Albania
  • Switzerland
  • Latvia
  • Slovenia
  • Moldova
  • Bulgaria
  • Ukraine
  • Lithuania
  • Netherlands

2nd Half

  • Norway
  • Russia
  • Portugal
  • Denmark
  • Armenia
  • Austria
  • Croatia
  • Iceland
  • Greece

Second Semi-Final (12 May):

1st Half

  • Australia
  • Georgia
  • Cyprus
  • Serbia
  • Finland
  • Azerbaijan
  • San Marino
  • Israel
  • Malta

2nd Half

  • Montenegro
  • Romania
  • Czech Republic
  • Poland
  • Belgium
  • North Macedonia
  • Sweden
  • Estonia
  • Ireland

Turin will host the 66th Eurovision Song Contest from May 10th to 14th at the Pala Alpitour. The motto of this year’s event, as chosen by the organizers, is “The Sound of Beauty”.

You can see the draw again through the following link:

 

 

 

Australia: SBS introduces Isaiah Firebrace’s duet partner!

A few minutes ago, the Australian broadcaster SBS revealed the artist that is going to perform along with Isaiah Firebrace on their duet, at Australia Decides. It is the 20-year-old Evie Irie.

Their song called “When I’m With You” will be released on the 4th of February, alongside the TikTok Wildcard winner.

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.

Evie Irie said:

If there’s one thing I like as much as creating music for my own projects, it’s writing with other artists for their projects: it’s not work, it’s just fun!  So when Isaiah and his team asked me to do Eurovision with this random wonderful song called, When I’m With You, that we had such a great time writing together, I was seriously shook. I never EVER thought I’d have the chance to play at Eurovision and I just can’t say no to Isaiah.

And Isaiah Firebrace commented:

Sometimes life takes you on a very unusual journey. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined doingEurovision – Australia Decides with Evie Irie but I am so thankful that our planets aligned and we get to do this together.  We wrote the song together, we jumped out of a plane together and we want to represent Australia together. Being together is what the song is all about and what the world needs right now. I’m incredibly proud to being doing this with Evie – she’s so unique and so special… wait until the world gets to know her like I have!!!

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.

The song titles already revealed are:

  • Seann Miley Moore – “My Body”
  • Charley – “I Suck At Being Lonely”
  • Sheldon Riley – “Not the Same”
  • Isaiah Firebrace, Evie Irie – “When I’m With You”

Read more

Australia: Listen to a snippet of Andrew Lambrou’s new Australia Decides 2022 song!

As you have already read in one of our previous articles, regarding this year’s contestants of the Australian national final Australia Decides, Andrew Lambrou, an artist with Cypriot roots, is one of them.

Last night in one of his Instagram Stories, Andrew uploaded a long snippet of his competing song and commented:

What’s happening guys, a couple of days ago I posted a sneak peek of my next song. A lot of you absolutely loved it and wanted to hear more. So I’m gonna show you another sneak peek, but because I love Marvel I put the song over one of my favourite Marvel clips, and I just think it works. So have a listen and let me know what you think.

Earlier this week, on his Instagram account, he had uploaded a shorter snippet of his song, once more and also revealed that the song will be released soon in full:

Who is Andrew Lambrou

Andrew Lambrou is 23 years old, lives and works in Sydney. He writes and performs his own songs, starting at the age of five.

At the age of just 17 years old, he impressed all four judges of  XFactor Australia, and he advanced to the next stage quite easily. He received amazing feedback by the XFactor judges and global megastars – Danii Minogue, James Blunt, Chris Isaak, Guy Sebastian – Andrew got through the first phase with four YESes, after he’d performed “Chains” by Nick Jonas.

At the second phase, the one of five seat challenge, the coach of the boys under 25, Chris Isaak, had to choose just five of the guys to move on to the next phase. Andrew sang “Ain’t nobody” by Chaka Khan secured his place at the Top 5.

It’s worth noting that Andrew Lambrou was already well known, long before he took part in the XFactor Australia, as he was used to uploading videos of him doing song covers of massive worldwide hits, on his YouTube Channel.

Sadly, when he reached the phase of Super Home Visits, he was not lucky enough to advance to the Top 3 and take part in the live shows. This was due to him being too young and not experienced enough, at the same time. However, music industry moguls such as Simon Cowell commented on him really positively.

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.

The song titles already revealed are:

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

The lineup of 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
  2. Jaguar Jonze
  3. Paulini
  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 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 2020 performance in the video embedded below:

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding the Australia Decides and the Australian entry for Eurovision 2022!

Australia: Listen to the second song bidding to represent Australia, on 2022!

The second song of Australia Decides 2022, the Australian national final for Eurovision 2022, has been released.

Its song title was already known,  and is “I Won’t Need to Dream” by the 22 year old singer-songwriter called Jude York.

His song is already out in Spotify Australia and you can listen to it below:

Who is Jude York

Jude York is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter who began sharing his song-writing skills and vocals only this year on his socials.

From Toowoomba in regional Queensland (around an hour-and-a-half’s drive west of Brisbane), Jude describes himself as an explosion of life, in which he combines sadness and happiness to create music which you can dance to but which also prompts an “emotional, crying, deep reflective experience”.

Jude is an artist who is not afraid to explore many music genres. His artistry has versatility and, coupled with his clever lyrics that flow like poetry, his music is slick, mesmerising and catchy.

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.

The song titles already revealed 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
  2. Jaguar Jonze
  3. Paulini
  4. Andrew Lamrpou
  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
  11. Leea Nanos

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 2020 performance in the video embedded below:

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding the Australia Decides and the Australian entry for Eurovision 2022!

Australia: Listen to the first song bidding to represent Australia, on 2022!

The first song of Australia Decides 2022, the Australian national final for Eurovision 2022, has been released.

The song is called Dreamer by the progressive metal band called VOYAGER and you can listen to it below:

Who is VOYAGER

VOYAGER is a progressive metal band from Perth, Western Australia, formed in 1999, currently consisting of Simone Dow (guitar), Daniel Estrin (vocals, keyboards), Mark Boeijen (drums), and Alex Canion (bass). The band has released seven full-length albums. VOYAGER concentrates on structured compositions, melody, virtuosity, and atmosphere.

As they’re stating in the caption of their YouTube video:

VOYAGER are WA’s first hope for Eurovision supremacy! ‘Dreamer’ is the official entry into this year’s contest.

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.   Furthermore, four candidates have announced the title of their songs that will compete to represent Australia in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.  The song titles already revealed are:

  • Jude York – “I Won’t Need to Dream”
  • 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
  2. Jaguar Jonze
  3. Paulini
  4. Andrew Lamrpou
  5. Sheldon Riley
  6. G-Nat! Ion.
  7. Sean Miley Moore
  8. Voyager Australia
  9. Charley
  10. Jude York
  11. Leea Nanos

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 2020 performance in the video embedded below:

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun, for all the latest developments regarding the Australia Decides and the Australian entry for Eurovision 2022!

Eurovision 2022: Pots and Participants of Semifinals Allocation Draw revealed!

The semi-finals draw will take place on Tuesday 25 January at 12:00 CET, from the Palazzo Madama e Casaforte degli Acaja in Turin. At the same time there will be a ceremony of handing over the keys of the contest or as it is widely known, the Host City Insignia from the previous hosts Rotterdam to the Italian organizers.

The allocation draw will determine whether the countries will participate in the First Semifinal (Tuesday, May 10) or the Second Semifinal (Thursday, May 12). Also, again based on the draw it will be determined if they appear in the first or second half of the semifinal. We remind you that the exact order of appearance is announced later by the organizers and after it has first been approved by the EBU.

The draw will be presented by TV presenters Carolina di Domenico and Gabriele Corsi. Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb and Turin Mayor Stefano Lo Russo will be present.

Friends of the contest will be able to watch the draw on Eurovision’s YouTube channel or on Rai’s streaming service.

Semi-final draw: How does it work?

Italy, as the host country, together with the other 4 members of the so-called “Big 5” (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) do not compete in the Semifinals, but vote in one of them… so before the competing countries in Semifinals, it will be determined at random which of the Semifinals the Big 5 will be allowed to vote for.

The next part of the draw will determine in which Semifinal and in which half of the respective Semifinal the remaining 36 participating countries will appear.

The 36 countries of the semifinals are selected from 6 different pots:

Pot 1

  • Albania
  • Croatia
  • Montenegro
  • North Macedonia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia

Pot 2

  • Denmark
  • Australia
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Sweden

Pot 3

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • Israel
  • Russia
  • Ukraine

Pot 4

  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Malta
  • Bulgaria
  • Portugal
  • San Marino

Pot 5

  • Estonia
  • Lithuania
  • Latvia
  • Moldova
  • Poland
  • Romania

Pot 6

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Switzerland
  • Czech Republic
  • Ireland
  • Netherlands

Drawing countries from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called neighbourly voting and increases suspense in the Semi-Finals.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the 66th Eurovision Song Contest!