Europe may not want us there, but guess what, we’re in Eurovision once again! Our first participant Guy Sebastian was a hit with his upbeat number Tonight Again, and last year, Dami Im improved on Guy’s results and finished in an incredible 2nd place. This year, Australia is putting their hopes in the young artist Isaiah Firebrace, who won the most recent series of X Factor Australia. Are we in for yet another Top 10 result?
Isaiah’s selection came with mixed feelings. There were some that didn’t even know who he was, to others who really backed our entry from the get-go. As it got close to the announcement of the Australian act, the pieces were all fitting together and I knew it would be Isaiah, who had previously expressed his interest in participating. I wasn’t too thrilled, as we have some incredibly talented and already established artists, but of course I waited to hear the song before passing my full judgement. The live feed to announce the artist and song was constantly buffering due to some questionable wi-fi, but on first impressions it wasn’t too bad. Listening to the studio version sent me into a deep love affair with this song, a love affair which hasn’t yet ended.
The Aussies were worried about sending a slower, ballad-like entry, which is what we’ve ended up with but it feels a lot more pop based and contemporary in comparison to Sound of Silence, which was written by the same writers as this year’s entry. I find myself captivated from the first moments, where we hear Isaiah’s deep, but yet angelic voice. I am completely obsessed with the chorus, from the melody to the lyrics which is brought to life with his voice. This is the type of song which is simple but effective, and it’s the type of song which I can’t help but sing incredibly loud to in the car, belting out every note as if I was going to Eurovision myself!
I can’t help but compare this to our entry last year, which I found to be quite repetitive, and it wasn’t until hearing the live version where I saw the potential. Yes, this song follows a similar structure and is fairly repetitive, but there’s something about this song that appeals to me more than what Sound of Silence did for me. I think the melody is a big part of that, and even though it is a repetitive melody, it’s one that I don’t mind hearing over and over.
We saw how Dami Im transformed her song vocally on stage, and one of my concerns regarding our stage performance is whether Isaiah will be able to really nail this live. We’ve heard him sing the song a couple of times now, and it’s definitely improving as time goes by, but this is the same with many of the Eurovision singers who just need to ease into that confidence about their song. I’m pretty hopeful about how it will sound, but it’s that extra pressure because it’s my own country!
Overall, this is one of my favourite entries from this year. Sure, there might be very slight bias because this is my country’s representative, but if any other country sent this entry, I would have loved it just as much. It’s one of my most listened to entries of this year, and I just can’t get enough. With all that said, I can confidently give this a 10/10, and although it might not be our best placing entry come Eurovision time (although it may be, who knows), it still remains as one of my favourites.
