by Michael Idato
Australia’s Voyager stormed home with an explosive appearance on stage at the 67th annual Eurovision Song Contest, securing ninth place from a field of 37 countries. With wind and smoke machines, a 1988 Toyota MR2 on stage and lead singer Danny Estrin wielding his keytar, the group secured 151 points.
The clash of 37 countries, songs and singers was won by Loreen from Sweden with 583 points, followed by Finland (526), Israel (362), Italy (350), Norway (268), Ukraine (243), Belgium (182) and Estonia (168).
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| Voyager perform Promise in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.SARAH LOUISE BENNETT / EBU |
The final Eurovision score is calculated by merging scores from a five-member professional jury and audience “tele-voting” during the live broadcast; both groups assign scores of 1-8, 10 and 12 points to any country except their own.
Eurovision’s arcane scoring system is one of its most-loved elements, giving rise to the event’s most famous phrases douze points and nul points – pronounced “dooze pwa” and “nul pwa” – or 12 points and no points, the best and worst scores possible.
Voyager, from Perth, delivered a punchy stage production for the Eurovision final, giving the synth rock anthem Promise an explosive heavy metal flourish. Ultimately, it was not enough to win the day, but ninth place from a field of 37 is a respectable finish in Eurovision for a country not physically situated in Europe.
The two-door, 1.6-litre, four-cylinder Toyota MR2 that featured prominently in their performance is Estrin’s own; the first car the 41-year-old singer owned, which has featured in several of the band’s music videos. Formed in 1999, Voyager has already released seven studio albums.
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| Australian singer Andrew Lambrou representing Cyprus at the Eurovision Song Contest. SARAH LOUISE BENNETT / EBU |
There was a second Australian performer in this year’s competition, singer Andrew Lambrou representing Cyprus, who came 12th overall with 126 points.
Speaking backstage, the band were overjoyed with their performance. “We are a progressive epic pop synth metal band from Perth, Western Australia, and we made it into the top 10 of Eurovision. Let that sink in for a little while,” Estrin said.
The high score the band received from the jury “absolutely smashed what we were predicting,” guitarist Scott Kay said. “We were predicting a ruthless jury and a very generous public vote, but it was almost the opposite. Watching ourselves get to sixth place on jury alone was insane.”
Estrin added: “We’ve been watching Eurovision for a long time, and the jury score ... as artists, we’ve been doing this for a long time. That’s a real pat on the back.”
Estrin described the race as “top heavy”, particularly as Sweden and Finland surged into the lead with 583 and 526 points, essentially turning the final straight of the scoring phase into a two-horse race for hosting rights in 2024.
“[Sweden and Finland] were so popular and so loved, we always knew,” Kay said. “We never had any doubts that they would do really well.” The band singled out Finland’s Kaarija for high praise. “We have watched Kaarija work so hard,” Kay said. “As Aussies, we love the battler. Maximum respect to Kaarija.”
Estrin said Australia’s future in the competition was bright. “If, after this, you don’t like Eurovision then you’re an idiot,” he said. “It’s the single greatest thing that can happen in your life. It’s full of joy. It’s so beautiful. Just get on board.”
The band said they would be partying hard to celebrate their feat. “We’ve been very good the last couple of days,” drummer Ashley Doodkorte said. “So we’re going to be very bad for the next few hours,” finished Kay.
The final caps off a week in which delegations representing 37 competing countries converged on the city of Liverpool, in the UK. Eleven countries – Denmark, Romania, Iceland, Greece, Georgia, San Marino, Malta, Latvia, Ireland, Azerbaijan and Netherlands – were culled in two hotly contested semi-finals.
That left 26 countries, including Australia, last year’s winner Ukraine, the strong performers like Sweden, Finland and Israel, and the so-called “big five” – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK – in the final. The “big five” get their final starting position as the five largest contributors to the event’s organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Australia has an impressive track record at Eurovision, making it into the top 10 on four of our seven previous appearances. Only once since we joined Eurovision as a competitor in 2015 have we failed to make the final.
Our results gain value when you consider we do not belong to one of the competition’s voting “blocs”. Though it is officially discouraged, specific clusters of countries tend to give each other their highest score, such as Cyprus-Greece, Denmark-Finland-Iceland-Norway-Sweden and Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania.
Compared with last year’s competition, when organisers expelled Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, this year’s competition was largely apolitical until Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky asked to speak to the TV audience of 160 million viewers during the final but was refused.
Zelensky, who has spoken at high-profile media events such as the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, the Grammys and the Golden Globes, has asked to speak at the last two Oscars but was refused. The EBU’s decision was criticised by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said Ukraine’s fight was “not political [but] fundamental.”
The Princess of Wales appeared in the opening sequence of the telecast, during a performance by last year’s winner, Kalush Orchestra, of their song Stefania. The Princess’s instrumental piano contribution was filmed in the Crimson Drawing Room of Windsor Castle.
The broadcast also included a songbook medley of music connected to the host city, Liverpool, including a moving rendition of one of the city’s great sport and cultural anthems, You’ll Never Walk Alone. “A tear in my silly old eye, you don’t see that every day,” host Graham Norton said.
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| Israel’s Noa Kirel in the Eurovision final. SARAH LOUISE BENNETT / EBU |
Though the 2023 Eurovision does not fall on its own anniversary, it is a year shy of the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s 1974 competition-winning performance in Brighton, England, when their performance of Waterloo catapulted the Swedish foursome to international fame.
“When ABBA walked out onto that stage, we could not have imagined that 50 years later, we would have a Museum of ABBA,” ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus said during this year’s telecast. “Our international success began with Eurovision.”
Australia’s Eurovision jury was composed of INXS’s Andrew Farriss, singer/actress Toni Pearen, singer/songwriter/actor Eddie Perfect, songwriter/presenter Brihony Dawson and radio host/DJ Latifa Tee. Our jury spokesperson was Oscar-winning production and costume designer Catherine Martin.
Martin described Voyager as “classic Eurovision. [They are] just so out there, and jubilant, and without restraint and everybody goes for it. There’s no self-consciousness. I just think it’s fantastic and fantastically entertaining.”
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| Voyager performing in the Eurovision final. CORINNE CUMMING / EBU |
The four-time Oscar winner said Eurovision’s appeal lay in its flamboyance and multiculturalism. “And it holds a really dear place in my heart because I’m of the generation that was alive and watched the excerpts of ABBA winning on TV,” she said.
The Eurovision-winning Italian rock band Måneskin also contributed the song If I Can Dream to the Oscar-nominated film Elvis. “Baz [Luhrmann] and I are huge fans, and it was an instant yes [to taking a role on the Australian Eurovision jury] because I just loved it so much.”
The seven-decade history of Eurovision is significant, Martin says, because “it brings people from different countries together, working in the same field, for an incredibly meaningful creative moment. And the connections that are made change each performer.
“Without Eurovision, where would ABBA be? Or Måneskin? Destinies have changed, through art and culture, at a time in the world when the algorithm on the internet promotes the idea that you get more clicks if you’re disagreeing,” Martin said. “Eurovision fosters a sense of pride in who you are, and a sense of respect for others and other countries.”
This year marks Australia’s eighth year in Eurovision. But Australia’s agreement with the EBU expires this year, meaning if we are to return in 2024 or beyond, a new agreement must be struck between Australia and the competition organisers.
Before our debut in official competition, several Australian artists had represented the UK. Peter Doyle and Marty Kristian, with The New Seekers in 1972, finished second, Olivia Newton-John in 1974 (fourth) and Gina G in 1996 (eighth).
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| Sweden’s Loreen backstage at Eurovision in Liverpool. CHLOE HASHEMI / EBU |
Melbourne-born Johnny Logan also has a colourful Eurovision history: he won as a performer in 1980 and 1987, representing Ireland, and composed songs for Ireland’s entrants in 1984, placing second, and 1992, securing him a third win.
First published at The Sydney Morning Herald, May 14, 2023
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