I love the Eurovision
Song Contest – always have. As a kid growing up in Wales I was lucky to
experience the UK glory years. The representatives were the big names of the
day, Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John were just some.
Those songs were the massive hits of the decade and are still played on
nostalgic radio stations here in Australia.
Now some sixty
years later the event is the biggest production in the world, it has more than
a fair share of camp layered over the performances, some of the best looking
people ever to grace a television screen and fans – well it’s said there is
nothing quite like the Eurovision fans.
And I know this
first hand. My friend throws a Eurovision party each year and it’s always one
of the year’s best nights. In 2011 we watched the contest broadcast from the German
city of Dusseldorf with great anticipation as it had been decided a group of my
friends would travel to the winners city the next year.
Bam – off to
Azerbaijan.
The Baku
edition brought Europe one of the biggest stars in Loreen, as well as amazing
pop songs and grannies telling everybody to dance. My friends had the
experience of a life time to remember.
Recently, along
with my Eurovision fan friend, I had a Eurovision-ish moment. As part of this
year’s Mardi Gras Festival, Conchita Wurst, who won the contest in 2014,
performed at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It too was a marvellous evening. Anyway,
towards the end of the second act Conchita was joined on stage by Guy Sebastian
and as he sang ‘Tonight Again’ the song he sang at last year’s contest and came
a very respectable fifth place, TV cameras appeared in the aisles of the centre
stalls. They were about to announce Australia’s 2016 entrant live to the
evening news and to Europe’s breakfast TV shows.
To be fair,
after a week of insane speculation that it was to be Tina or Delta, Conchita
announced Dami Im. There was respectable applause but also quite a bit of “Who”
to be heard. Dami took to the piano and began to perform an acoustic version of
ABBA’s 1974 winning song ‘Waterloo’. The orchestra joined in, the tempo took
off and we got a very contemporary take on this song. As Dami was bringing the
song home the whole concert hall leapt to its feet, clapping and cheering with
approval as is the custom for a room full of queens.
Dami grew up in
South Korea, coming to Australia with her family at age nine. In addition to
singing, her musical talents stretch to playing the violin and piano. Oh and
she is the winner of the fifth season of The X Factor Australia and has a
recording contract with Sony Music Australia.
But it’s a song
contest. Dami’s song is the ‘Sound of Silence’ written by Australian hit makers
DNA Songs (David Musumeci and Anthony Egizii) who have written for some of the
biggest names in pop music, including Ricky Martin, Jessica Mauboy, Delta
Goodrem and The Veronicas as well as penning Dami Im’s X-Factor winner’s single
‘Alive’.
The song is a
polished power ballad, the kind the Europeans like and is about feelings of
nostalgia, distance and missing the one you love. It’s going down a treat in
Europe even though it has failed to make the top twenty charts here.
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| Dami Im in rehearsal Eurovision 2016 |
Dami is currently
sitting number three with the tipsters behind the two hunks from France and
Russia (in fact this year’s viewing will include male soloists from 14
countries). Just as well, as she has to sing for her votes in Semi Final No 2
to make it to the big night.
Locally, DJ
Brett Austin, who remixes under the pop alias Glamstarr has given the track his
special magic. He told me once he heard the song he instantly fell in love with
it and knew he’d be able to do it justice with a big anthem remix.
Brett said “I
wanted to give the song that extra lift, and really give it those hands in the
air moments. The vocal is so exquisite,
and powerful, it was just begging for it.”
We’ll get to
dance to it at ARQ Sydney where Brett has a residency, meanwhile it’s already
been well received by our local DJs and abroad - the promo was released by Sony
Music to DJs here and in the UK in early April and to us in mid-May.
“The buzz it’s
generating for Dami in Europe is outstanding!” said Brett.
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| DJ Brett Austin |
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