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Australia: Internal selection for Eurovision 2023!

It looks like Australia Decides, Australia’s national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, will not be returning next year.

SBS has unveiled its schedule for the new TV season and Australia Decides is nowhere to be found. In fact, in the list he published, it is mentioned at the end under the sign “absent”, along with two more television projects.

So far, Australian public television has not officially announced how Australia’s representative in Eurovision 2023 will be selected, although everything now indicates that we are heading for an internal selection.

Last year, SBS opened the deadline for submissions on August 26, closing a month later on September 26. Having already entered November and knowing that at least a month is required for the submission of entries, it seems that Australia will choose internally for Eurovision 2023.

Of course, this won’t be the first time this has happened, since from 2015 to 2018, as well as 2021, SBS selected its representatives for the competition internally.

This year, Australia was represented by Sheldon Riley with the song Not The Same, having previously won Australia Decides. Sheldon placed 15th in the final with 125 points, almost all from the juries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wosfFz2FJPU

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: Eurovisionin

Andrew Lambrou: With which country is the singer in discussions for Eurovision 2023?

We promised you last night, through our social media, some really interesting news! And we aspire to always deliver! So, here it is: Andrew Lambrou, an Australian singer of Cypriot origin, is in discussions with a country for Eurovision 2023.

“Until we know what’s happening with Eurovision”

Due to the summer idleness and lack of news, we decided to get in touch with artists who were candidates for this year’s national finals, to see where they are now, what they are up to or if they would be interested in participating again in ESC.

One of the artists we interviewed was Andrew Lambrou, who attempted to represent Australia at Eurovision 2022, taking part in the national final Australia Decides with the song Electrify – eventually coming seventh out of eleven candidates.

So, we contacted him and he agreed to do the interview, referring us to his manager to arrange the details of the interview. After having agreed on day and time with his manager, Timothy Youngson, we were waiting for the final “ok”.

However, on Sunday evening, we received an e-mail in which it was essentially confirmed that the artist is in discussions for Eurovision 2023, and that his team decided to wait for the final outcome of these discussions, before giving an interview!

Which country is Andrew Lambrou in discussions with?

Of course, the question that arises now is which country is Andrew Lambrou in discussions with. There are, we believe, two possible scenarios.

Australia

The first possible scenario is that the young expatriate artist is discussing a return to Australia Decides, the country’s national final for the ESC.

He might not have managed to get the ticket for the Competition this year, but Andrew Lambrou left a positive impression upon the eurofans, and not a few of them would like to see him try again.

Cyprus

The second possible scenario is of course Cyprus. CYBC very recently signed a new agreement with PANIK, according to which their cooperation in Eurovision is extended for at least two more years. In fact, it was announced that for 2023 they will once again select the artist internally, while for 2024 they will hold ,together with Nikos Kokloni’s production company, “All Together Now”, for the selection of the country’s representative.

So, it would not come as a surprise if the Cypriot delegation and PANIK are already in discussion with the artist’s team, in order for the latter to represent the country in the next competition. Andrew Lambrou may not be part of PANIK’s team (after all he lives and works in Australia), but this is not a problem since something similar happened back in 2020, with PANIK records taking over Sandro merely for the Eurovision project.

Who is Andrew Lambrou

Andrew Lambrou is 24 years old, who lives and works in Sydney. He performs and writes his own songs since the age of five.

At the age of just 17, he impressed all four X Factor judges, who easily got him through to the next stage. Having received great feedback from the four big names sitting in the judges’ seats  (Danii Minogue, James Blunt, Chris Isaak, Guy Sebastian). Andrew got through the first round with four ‘YES’, performing his rendition of Nick Jonas’ song “Chains”.

In the second phase, the 5 seat challenge, the coach of the Boys under 25 team, Chris Isaak, was asked to choose only five out of the boys to go through. Andrew sang “Ain’t nobody” by Chaka Khan and achieved a Top 5 spot.

It is worth noting that Andrew Lambrou became known well before his participation on X-Factor, due to his YouTube Channel, where he uploads various covers of popular (mostly pop) songs.

Unfortunately, Andrew was not as lucky in the next phase, the Super Home Visits phase, as he did not manage to make it to the top 3 and enter the live shows. This is attributed mostly to his musical inexperience at the time. However, experts in the field, like Simon Cowell, remarked upon Andrew’s promising career in the industry.

It now remains to be seen if Andrew Lambrou will try again for the Australian national final despite his recent disappointing results or whether CYBC, after this year’s non-qualification, will follow on the ERT’s footsteps and send an expatriate artist to the ESC.

Check out his performance at Australia Decides 2022 below:

Would you like to see Andrew Lambrou at Eurovision 2023 with Australia or with Cyprus? Stay tuned for all the updates on the matter!

Australia: The first country to use Online Voting for Eurovision!

Australia will become the first country in the Eurovision Song Contest to use online voting to determine the outcome of the televoting! This automatically means that Australian fans will not vote for their favorite entry in the traditional way of using phone or SMS.

The country’s broadcaster, SBS, reports:

Digame, the official voting partner of Eurovision in Germany, has created a new online platform exclusively for the Australian public to vote. This means that there will be no phone calls and SMS during live shows. All votes will be taken by the new online system.

Australians will be able to vote through the www.esc.vote page created by Digame. Votes will be limited to 20 per person and will cost 0.55 cents per vote.

You will be able to choose which countries you want to vote for and how many votes per country (up to 20 votes in total). The way you distribute these votes will be up to you: you could give 20 votes to one country, divide your votes among many countries or just give one vote to your favorite.

Payment options are Google Pay, Apple Pay and credit card. Once the payment is received, no more votes can be received from this user. Full voting terms and conditions will be available on the voting platform.

This year Australia will be represented by Sheldon Riley. The country competes tonight in the Second Semifinal with the song “Not the Same”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okX1e90GE_I

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Stay tuned to Eurovision Fun for daily updates of Eurovision 2022!

Australia: The jury members of Australia Decides 2022 was revealed!



On February 26, Australia is about to pick its representative for Eurovision through Australia Decides 2022. A few hours ago the running order of the artists was revealed while since 10:00 p.m. AEST, the Australian public can vote for their favorite artist until Saturday night by sending an SMS. In the Australian final, the public determines 50% of the total result and jury the remaining 50%.

For the first time ever, Eurovision fans around the world will also be able to tune in to watch Eurovision – Australian Decides live with SBS On Demand removing its geo-block for the TV event. The event will be available to stream live on Saturday 26th February at 8.30pm AEDT.

The 11 competing artists are:

  1. G-Nat!on – Bite Me
  2. Erica Padilla – To the Bottom
  3. Seann Miley Moore – My Body
  4. Charley – I Suck At Being Lonely
  5. Andrew Lambrou – Electrify
  6. Sheldon Riley – Not the Same
  7. Paulini – We Are One
  8. Jaguar Jonze – Little Fires
  9. Isaiah Firebrace and Evie Irie – When I’m With You
  10. Voyager – Dreamer
  11. Jude York – I Won’t Need to Dream

A few hours ago the jury members were revealed:

  • Darren Hayes (former singer of Savage Garden)
  • Alexandra Rotan (singer of KEiiNO – Νοrway 2019)
  • Millie Petriella ( member of APRA – AMCOS)
  • Emily Griggs (SBS Head of Food and Entertainment)
  • Paul Clarke (producer)

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Australia’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

Australia: The running order of Australia Decides 2022!

Earlier today, the running order of the Australian National Final, Australia Decides 2022 was announced! Eleven amazing acts will perform for the chance to represent the nation in Turin, in May, with the winner chosen by a jury and public votes.

The artists’ running order is as follows:

  1. G-Nat!on – “Bite Me
  2. Erica Padilla – “To the Bottom
  3. Seann Miley Moore – “My Body
  4. Charley – “I Suck At Being Lonely
  5. Andrew Lambrou – “Electrify
  6. Sheldon Riley – “Not the Same
  7. Paulini – “We Are One
  8. Jaguar Jonze – “Little Fires
  9. Isaiah Firebrace and Evie Irie – “When I’m With You
  10. Voyager – “Dreamer
  11. Jude York – “I Won’t Need to Dream

Alongside the performances of the 11 entrants, Australia Decides will feature performances from special guests such as KEiiNO who represented Norway in 2019 with “Spirit In The Sky” as well as Australia Decides 2020 winner, Montaigne! Australia Decides 2022, will be hosted by Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst live on SBS on 26 February 2022 at 12:30AM CET.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Australia’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

Source: SBS/Aussievision

Australia: Listen to all the competing songs of Australia Decides 2022!

The last three songs that fill out the puzzle of the eleven finalists of this year’s Australia Decides were published and now the line-up of the artists competing to be the representative of Australia in Eurovision 2022 in Turin is completed.

The eleven artists that claim the representation of the country 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 –  “Bite Me”
  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 – “To The Bottom”

The National Final:

The eleven candidates will compete in Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on February 26 for the representation of Australia in Eurovision 2022. After the great success of Eurovision: Australia Decides, SBS decided on keeping the concept of the national final the same for 2022

The hosts of this year’s national final will be, the radio producer and host Myf Warhurst and the comedian Joel Creasey, who will also take the broadcast of the competition in May 2022 upon themselves  on behalf of SBS.

The last winner of Australia Decides was Montaigne with the song “Don’t Break Me”. After the cancellation of the 2020 contest she was internally selected to represent Australia in 2021 with the song “Technicolour”.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Australian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy!

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: New candidates for Eurovision: Australia Decides

Australia’s public broadcaster, SBS has announced two more candidates for its national final, “Eurovision: Australia Decides”, to be held in Gold Coast on 8 February. These are two more candidates announced, Montaigne and Didirri.

Montaigne

At just 24 years old, Sydney-based Montaigne has become a major name in Australian indie music. In recent years, she has been recognized for her work with several songs on the charts, an ARIA Award and one more nomination for Best Female Artist on her Glorious Heights debut album. COMPLEX’s second album was released in August.

“I am excited about participating in Eurovision: Australia Decides for the opportunity to release myself which is dramatic and extreme. I will be able to do this without a massive international music event as a boost, but in Europe’s big stage in front of millions of viewers it will be all the results of the drama I have inside me. It is an honor to represent my country, of course! I didn’t do that well in football, so it would be cool to do it in music. It’s like the World Cup for pop”

Didirri

Didirri’s debut “EP Measurements” has garnered more than 30 million views and led Didirri to perform at renowned festivals such as “The Great Escape” and “Latitude Festival” in the UK, “Splendor In The Grass” in Australia and the “Sound Primavera” in Barcelona. Within a few months, he had traveled twice to America and the United Kingdom and shared the stage with well-known artists.

“I’ve always been interested in creators. Although the world of Eurovision is new to me, from the outside it seems to respect a well-written song above all. People seem to be free to express their art any way they want. I’m an ABBA fan, they wrote unfiltered, virtual hymns. My sister and I were singing their songs together in the bathroom. The personal experience inspires most of my writing – all I hope to do is help people express some of them. I’m also happy to the moon for competing with my girlfriend Montaigne who I respect very much”

Four more candidates for Eurovision: Australia Decides!

The other six candidates will be announced in the near future with Paul Clarke ,executive producer “Eurovision: Australia Decides” promising more surprises. The six candidates announced so far are:

-Vanessa Amorosi
-Casey Donovan
-Mitch Tambo
-iOTA
-Montaigne
-Didirri

This year’s Australian National Final will also be hosted by radio producer and presenter Myf Warhurst and comedian Joel Creasey, who will also be airing the contest in May 2020 on behalf of SBS.

This year, Eurovision: Australia Decides winner Kate Miller-Heidke represented Australia in Tel Aviv, finishing ninth with 285 points.

Source: SBS

Australia: Two more candidates for “Eurovision: Australia Decides”

Australia’s public broadcaster, SBS, earlier announced two more nominees for Eurovision: Australia Decides, its national final for Eurovision 2020. These are Mitch Tambo and iOTA.

Ten candidates will compete at Gold Coast on February 8 to represent Australia at Eurovision 2020. Following this year’s success of Eurovision: Australia Decides, SBS has decided to launch the same concept for 2020.

After Casey Donovan and Vanessa Amorosi it’s time for two men:

Mitch Tambo

Mitch Tambo, 29, from Melbourne, is a representative for Gamilaraay, an indigenous Australian race, hence his strange outfit. His song as he states himself will have many elements of the traditional music of his tribe.

“I am excited to be part of Eurovision: Australia Decides and to be able to find myself on the biggest stage in the world. Eurovision songs often combine elements of traditional and contemporary sounds, something that I do with my own music. Most importantly it brings different cultures all under the banner of music, which is a beautiful thing”

Mitch Tambo’s participation did not surprise anyone because, through the “Australian’s Got Talent” that participated in the previous months, reaching the final, there were few who urged him to compete in the country’s national Eurovision final.

iOTA

IOTA is a multi-talented artist, as he is both an actor, a singer and a composer! He has participated in many films and series, and has been nominated for various acting and music awards.

“I’m not the typical type of contestant, but I’m interested in the Eurovision Song Contest on color and motion, music and performance, light and shadow, creativity and self-expression, singing and performing in front of so many big audience”

Six more candidates for Eurovision: Australia Decides!

The other six candidates will be announced in the near future with Paul Clarke, executive producer Eurovision: Australia Decides promising us more surprises:

“We are thrilled to welcome Mitch and iOTA to this truly exciting line-up. Together with Casey Donovan and Vanessa Amorosi, these four artists are beginning to give fans an indication of the scale, diversity and raw creativity that will be at the heart of Eurovision – Australia Decides 2020. With six remaining contestants left, we are sure it will be an amazing show!”

This year’s Australian National Final will also be hosted by radio producer and presenter Myf Warhurst and comedian Joel Creasey, who will also be airing the contest in May 2020 on behalf of SBS.

This year, Eurovision: Australia Decides winner Kate Miller-Heidke represented Australia in Tel Aviv, finishing ninth with 285 points.

Australia: SBS secures five more years of participation at the Eurovision Song Contest

SBS with production partner Blink TV have secured Australia’s participation as a competitor at the Eurovision Song Contest for the next five years, until 2023 (at least). Read more