Australia sets sights on Eurovision glory

Isaiah Firebrace will represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest grand final with the song Don't Come Easy.

Isaiah Firebrace from Australia

Isaiah Firebrace will represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest grand final. (AAP)

While many are still wondering how Australia ended up in a European song contest, the country is gearing up for its third attempt at Eurovision glory.

Hopes are pinned Isaiah Firebrace, who will sing pop ballad Don't Come Easy, and attempt to make it third-time lucky for wild card entrant Australia.

The 17-year-old will be the 14th act to perform on the stage in Kyiv's International Exhibition Centre on Sunday morning (Australian time).

Firebrace will be hoping for a perfect performance on Sunday having suffered a wobbly moment on stage in the semi-final with one missed note.

However, the teenager has managed to keep his composure, even sidestepping a tricky question in a backstage press conference about how Australia can't host the song contest even if the country wins on Sunday.

"If Australia do win this year we will choose a country to host the Eurovision. But even being selected to represent Australia has just been a dream come true and now that I'm through to the grand finals I just can't believe it," he said.

The singer from Moama in the NSW Riverina has been praised by the overseas media, with the British Telegraph writing that Firebrace "lives up to Australia's excellent pop music pedigree".

A total of 26 countries will compete in the grand final, including another Aussie, 21-year-old Anja Nissen, who will be there representing her parents' birth country Denmark.

Sydney girl, Nissen, will sing her power ballad Where I Am in tenth place, directly after favourite Francesco Gabbani from Italy, who will be joined on stage by a man dancing in a gorilla costume because this is, after all, Eurovision.

The wacky antics don't stop there with the inclusion of rap-yodellers from Romania, Ilinca and Alex Florea, and Azerbaijan's entrant Dihaj performing alongside a man on top of a ladder wearing a horse head.

The big five countries, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, and host country Ukraine all qualify automatically for the grand final, and will join the 20 countries who were voted through from the first two semi-finals.

The Eurovision will be broadcast live on SBS with hosts Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey looking after the commentary live from Kyiv, their first time taking over from Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang.

They're both hopeful that after two previous attempts at Eurovision, with Guy Sebastian in 2015 and Dami Im in 2016, that this could be Australia's year.

"Isaiah is so talented... I love his song, I think he'll blow them away because I think he's a surprise package," Creasey said.

"I think Isaiah can do it. I feel like he's just got some little bit of magic about him which makes me feel he could do this," Warhurst added.

* The Eurovision Song Contest grand final will be broadcast on Sunday at 5am (AEST) live on SBS and repeated at 7.30pm.


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Published 13 May 2017 9:30am
Source: AAP


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