Aussie showdown

McCabe

ELLA Hooper and Tania Doko are on the steroids for their gig-worn vocal cords. Courtney Act and Sheppard swap get-to-know-you niceties before sharing how nervous they are about their performance. And Kate Miller-Heidke is crossing everything her outfit fits perfectly when it arrives from Melbourne.

It’s the storm before showtime at the first-ever Eurovision: Australia Decides event, with the 10 artists vying for the chance to represent us at the world’s biggest singing contest in May in the middle of rehearsals.

All of the contestants — including Mark Vincent, Aydan, Electric Fields, Leea Nanos and Alfie Arcuri — have unveiled their songs for the big night, with fans sampling them via streaming services and iTunes.

The artists with the most streams via Spotify and YouTube before tonight’s show are Act, Sheppard, Electric Fields, Miller-Heidke and Arcuri.

But few of the artists are tracking the pre-show fan love. They are too consumed with getting the performance right, ironing out lighting and stage production, getting costumes fitted, doing a gazillion interviews and trying to quell those butterflies.

“I am kinda freaked out right now,” Act said after her rehearsal. “There’s a real solidarity in our artistic insecurities; it’s good to know we are all twisted balls of nerves.

“This is such a unique ex-

Kathy

perience. It’s like a music awards show without the awards; we just skip straight to the Gold Logie.”

Australia’s three-decade love-loathe affair with Eurovision has grown in the past five years since we were invited to join the party, with Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, Isaiah Firebrace and Jess Mauboy handpicked by SBS to have a shot at the title. This year, SBS are giving fans the choice with their votes combined with an expert jury to determine our contestant.

Killing Heidi frontwoman and solo artist Hooper said c o mpeting at Eurovision may not have been on her list of music mountains to conquer but “thought it was worth the risk”.

The “alternative” contestant in the eclectic line-up reckons she has a “snowflake’s chance in hell of winning” but loves the prospect of showcasing her unique voice on the Eurovision stage.

“I do think it is a careerbuilding opportunity,” she said.

“Pop artists just don’t have these kind of big opportunities to perform on television in Australia and the audience might not be my audience but Eurovision lets me know people who haven’t heard me since Weir or Mascara that I am still vital as an artist.”

Doko and Arcuri submitted a handful of songs each for consideration with the Austra-

I am kinda freaked out right now. There’s a real solidarity in our artistic insecurities

COURTNEY ACT

lian Head of Delegation and show producer Paul Clarke asking them to perform their compositions only weeks ago.

Based in Sweden where she is a respected songwriter, Doko was already in Australia as her duo Bachelor Girl was touring with John Farnham when she got the call-up.

“They are calling me the veteran, bless them,” she said.

She said the chance to showcase original songs written by local artists and composers instead of the covers demanded by television talent quests like The Voice was rare in Australia. She said Australian radio wasn’t really giving love to Australian pop songs.

“I think this show is not only a good way of getting more Australian fans involved in Eurovision but it also gives it credibility,” she said.

If you mention just how unique and different every artist and song is to the contenders, they will all immediately cite the electronic pop duo Electric Fields as exemplifying the eclectic spirit of the inaugural Australia Decides contest.

The fact there are three queer artists in the field — Electric Fields, Act and Arcuri — has been widely cited and celebrated by all the contestants.