The Australian national selection show for Eurovision is ripe with announcements, as they trickle out exciting news for us all. This week has seen the final three acts (Ella Hooper, Alfie Arcuri, and Tania Doko) announced for Eurovision – Australia Decides, as well as four of the acts (Aydan, Alfie Arcuri, Mark Vincent, and Leea Nanos) making their entry songs available to download and stream, and one act dropping a lyric video for their entry song (Electric Fields); who all join Courtney Act, who dropped her entry song “Fight For Love” a couple of weeks ago.
Eurovision – Australia Decides is set to take place at the Gold Coast on 9 February 2019 and will be hosted by Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey. This is the first time Australia will decide on an act through a national selection show, and considering the high calibre of acts, we’re excited to see it how it all pans out. To determine the winner and who will represent Australia at Eurovision, a 50/50 jury and televote will occur.
As previously mentioned, six of the ten acts have revealed their songs to the public, either making them available to download and stream or by releasing them on YouTube. We’re still waiting on the other four, although we reckon they’ll be out soon. We are excited to see what news will be dropping in the upcoming weeks.
Here’s our run-down of the revealed songs so far. We’re sure all of the acts will bring it when they’re on stage.
Alfie Arcuri – To Myself
The song starts off acoustically, letting Alfie Arcuri completely showcase his brilliant vocals, and he certainly doesn’t hold back. That voice is amazing and it’s a brilliant way to start off the song – allowing the Australian public to take note as soon as he opens his mouth. Emotional and story-telling, Alfie Arcuri proves exactly why he won The Voice in Australia, and as the song continues, it picks up speed and more power. This has a Guy Sebastian feel and we certainly can’t wait to see him perform the track; with the right staging and fashion choices, Alfie Arcuri has a brilliant shot.
Aydan – Dust
Relying on the strength of his soul, Aydan digs deep for his song, “Dust”. Strong lyrics and a powerful soulful vocal with a brilliant falsetto, Aydan has a good chance of showcasing his brilliant voice on the national selection stage. The backing track is somewhat upbeat, giving us a soul-pop ballad-like track. His voice draws us in with every word he sings. This is a strong song that definitely packs a punch.
Leea Nanos – Set Me Free
Now, Leea Nanos is known as the wildcard, she had apparently sent this song in and expected someone else to sing it, to her surprise Eurovision – Australia Decides decided that she should be the one who sings the song, and we’re not at all surprised, her vocals match this self-penned track beautifully which she wrote with Frank Dixon, and we can’t imagine anyone else singing it better.
It’s a hypnotising track that has trance-like elements which transpire into a glorious upbeat chorus the crescendos over like a crashing wave. Leea Nanos may not be a big name unlike her competitors, but she’s certainly going to make a name for herself with the performance of this track. This is an unforgettable song and artist.
Mark Vincent – This Is Not The End
“This Is Not The End” is a piano-led track with Mark Vincent’s deep vocals – he’s certainly going to make an impression the second he starts to sing on the national selection show. Opera and popra has had its ups and downs when it comes to Eurovision, and Mark Vincent may just change perceptions with this incredibly catchy track, if he is chosen as the Australian representative; however, it’s not much of a stand-out track, it’s just missing the edge – although, it’s quite possible he will bring that to the stage during the national selection show; if he has the right staging, this could really work.
Electric Fields – 2000 And Whatever
This isn’t officially released until 1 February 2019 – which is also the same date that Sheppard is set to make their song “On My Way” available to download and stream, however, Electric Fields have dropped a lyric video for the track on YouTube – whether this is detrimental or not, what with fans having to wait until the 1 February is something we will never know; however Eurovision fans are loving the song.
“2000 And Whatever” is fire from the start, it’s as if they mashed-up the first place and second place songs from the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, Netta’s “Toy” and Eleni Foueira’s “Fuego”, fully stirred, then sprinkled in 90’s and 00’s club sounds and adding a dash of Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (Australian Aboriginal Languages) to create this incredible new track that is so unique and so incredible that’s ready to take the world by storm.
Courtney Act – Fight For Love
We’ve already talked about this track in our previous article as Courtney Act dropped her single on the same day she was announced to be taking part in Eurovision – Australia Decides.
We described the song as “a catchy track that’s full of so much meaning and is certainly Eurovision fuelled, however, the past few years have shown that typical Eurovision tracks aren’t always guaranteed a win, but this has a good shot depending on staging.”
Adding to that, Courtney Act’s vocals are clear and crisp and we know how well she can sing. Her popularity may also help push her points up if she is chosen to represent Australia. The song is certainly Eurovision-fuelled and is bound to become a club track of the year that we will fall in love with.
We are still waiting on Sheppard’s “On My Way”, Kate Miller-Heidke’s “Zero Gravity”, Tania Doko’s “Piece Of Me”, and Ella Hooper’s song. We’ve received snippets of the former two tracks, with “Zero Gravity” expected to drop in three days time on 25 January 2019, and “On My Way” expected to be released in 10 days on 1 February 2019. Check out the snippets below.
Eurovision – Australia Decides will take place on 9 February 2019 with a 50/50 jury and televote to determine their Eurovision representative. It will be hosted on the Gold Coast, Queensland by Myf Warhurst and Joe Creasey.