Hitting high notes
Kate Miller-Heidke is set to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest with her operatic pop song Zero Gravity. Before she takes to the stage she tells DANIELLE McGRANE about her own experience of Eurovision and the poignant meaning behind her so
Kate Miller-Heidke isn’t completely new to Eurovision. This year’s Australian entrant in the massive song contest has been watching the show for quite some time.
“I started watching the Eurovision when I was living in London, so probably 10 years ago and for the past two years my friends have had Eurovision parties and we all dressed up,” she said.
The acclaimed singersongwriter, who has written operas, musicals and award-winning pop songs, noticed something about Eurovision that appealed to all facets of her artistry: the song contest allows artists to push themselves to their very limits.
And when Israel’s Netta Barzilai won last year with her quirky song Toy, it triggered something in MillerHeidke.
“I always did feel an affinity for Eurovision and particularly last year watch--ing Netta do those chicken noises, it really did speak directly to my soul,” she said.
“I love that as an artist you get permission to go to those extreme theatrical places that aren’t normally embraced by the normal radio pop music format; the theatricality of it, the visual aspect, and how experimental it can get.”
So when she was approached to enter Eurovision: Australia Decides, with the chance to represent Australia in the contest this year, she jumped at the chance. In just a few days, she wrote her uplifting song Zero Gravity.
The song has a deep message, charting Miller-Heidke’s battle with, and then emergence from, postnatal depression
“I think as a songwriter, whenever anything bad happens to you, even through the terrible experience of it, there’s a little voice that says, ‘This will make a good song one day’. It’s a pretty ruthless internal voice,” she said.
During the process of writing the song, Miller-Heidke realised just how far she had come.
“It’s funny how writing a song can actually crystallise your own feelings about something. You might not even realise you feel a certain way about something until you write the song. It’s just getting in touch with your subconscious. But when Keir (Nuttall), my songwriting partner, and I came up with the title and the metaphor it all sort of fell into place and felt quite natural,” she said.
Miller-Heidke describes that metaphor within her song as like “having a weight lifted off and feeling powerful, about transcending something”. “So even though the song does go to those dark places, particularly in the beginning in the verses, it kind of lifts off. I find it a very empowering song to sing,” she said.
Miller-Heidke overcame the first hurdle, beating off stiff competition in the public and jury-voted Australia
Decides, and she’s started to realise just how important this contest is to so many people around the world.
“In the past, I’ve never been extremely concerned with who won, I just always watch it like I’m watching a gig or a concert or celebration. It’s only now that I’m starting to appreciate the full extent to how much it matters to some people what order you’re ranked in,” she said.
“Fans will say things like, ‘Well, that reminds me of the entry that came 12th in 2007’. Eurovision fans are just so passionate. They say that the Eurovision itself is the Olympics of pop music and it’s like the Olympics of fandom as well, it’s almost a competitive sport.” ▪ Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final Wednesday, 4.30am on SBS, (repeated on Thursday at 8.30pm)