ISAIAH FIREBRACE AND EVIE IRIE
NOT THE SAME, SHELDON RILEY
With a wealth of singing contest experience – The Voice 2018 and 2019 and America’s Got Talent in 2020 – Eurovision has always been Riley’s end goal. And he has brought the song for the job. It’s an enormous orchestral tearjerker reflecting on his childhood experience and a triumphant arrangement with more drama than a Bachelor cocktail party.
KM Decides: Third
I WON’T NEED TO DREAM, JUDE YORK
The Queensland songwriter’s grand, theatrical entry captured the contest directors’ ears and later they decided York should perform it. The song’s first half recalls 2017’s winning song Amar Pelos Dois (Love For Both Of Us) by Portugal’s Salvador Sobral before it breaks into a crescendo of voices and beats. This has the potential to raise the biggest goosebumps on the night.
KM Decides: Second
DREAMER, VOYAGER
Eurovision diehards will remember Lordi, the Finnish heavy metal act who won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. Welcome Voyager, fusing Nordic metal vibes with ’80s pop. Their synthpop meets bombastic rock entry is one of the strongest contenders. The official video nails the kind of geometric lighting design loved by voters. There’s also a keytar, so very Eurovision. KM Decides: First
Eurovision – Australia Decides airs on SBS on February 26 from 8.30pm AEDT