On late 2018, it was announced that Australia will be hosting their first national selections for Eurovision. Previously, SBS has been selecting the acts themselves without any input of the fans. Now, 10 acts are now given the chance to have their voices heard and select who we want to bring to Tel Aviv in May.
Read here for reviews for all 10 acts
Live on the Gold Coast, 10 acts have the chance to wow the world with their performance, and give us a taste on what the staging would be like.
After watching the whole thing, I have to say – BEST SHOW I’VE EVER WITNESSED!!!
The fantasy of Eurovision hosted in Australia
According to what I’ve read – if Australia does win Eurovision, it has to be co-hosted in either Germany or UK (more likely Germany) as 40+ countries traveling to the Land Down Under, and waking up at 4am is very inconvenient.
It’s basically the Trolley Problem!!! – Either one country has to suffer waking up too early or have everyone else do it.
Australia Decides was a take on “what if Australia hosted the country in home soil” and boy they can roast the crap out of this!!!
Myf and Joel did an excellent job hosting the whole event. They remind me of Måns and Petra from 2016 but much more better!
Introductions of the acts
For those who are unaware – a “postcard” is a way to introduce each performer in Eurovision as well as showcasing the iconic locations of the hosting country. It’s like their way of saying “Hi from [Insert country]!!! Love [insert artist here]”.
Think of it like it’s an actual postcard but in a video form.
The only difference between the official ones and what was shown in SBS is that the artists in the national selection have a chance to explain what their songs are about and who they are as artists.
Interval Acts
The interval acts and segments were also another highlight of the night… however they were really long. But it was worth the wait. All the acts were quite entertaining! We got medleys, covers, acoustic versions, and a showcase of a new song by one of the previous artists!
My fave part was Hans Berlin performed that Eurovision medley and DID THE SPLITS on CHAIRS!!!
The acts
The acts were really brilliant. Some were my faves, some were not. But it gave us a taste on what their performance could be like on the world’s stage.
Some of my faves:
Data Dust
The song is like Sound of Silence but more off escaping the world of technology… and if the song is very upbeat.
Key moment – getting the band involved. They are not just “a band” but also like part of the act! This is really good since bands… can’t play live according to Eurovision rules. So doing this just makes the potential ‘miming’ less cringy.
This is not the end
In my previous post, I said that I predict a dramatic moment in his performance. And guess what, I WAS RIGHT!!!
His entire performance was very dramatic indeed! His act made everyone shut up and listen and appreciate his song.
To myself
I just thought that everyone with their camera lights out was freaking beautiful. It reminded me of Ireland’s entry last year!
The simplicity of the staging in his act just made the song and performance more beautiful.
The announcement of the winning act
Everything about this just screams Eurovision… but done in Australia. It’s a similar process to how it’s done in the actual contest and it was executed well… except for the fact we waited for a VERY LONG TIME just to know who won.
But the build up and announcement brought us to the edge of our seats as we wanted to see if our favourites have won.
Then the results came and salt was thrown all over the place.
Jury results 
Final results – Zero gravity won
Final thoughts on Zero Gravity winning
I will admit, I wasn’t a fan for the winning act… at first. For like 2 days, I was against it. I just thought the entire act was a La Forza clone. And over on YouTube – people think its a mix of Russia and Estonia (2018).
But eventually, the whole act grew on me and I’m somewhat supportive about it. The song and performance is digging on me. The song is about dealing with depression + moving on from someone and I think this whole act represents that.
Overall thoughts
Australia Decides was Australia’s opportunity to show the world that even if Australia can’t host the contest down under and need to co-host with one of the Big 5, we can still party locally.
The entire event was Australia’s way to showcase our capabilities of running a national selection in a way that’s both entertaining yet resembling the actual contest.
Good luck to Kate Miller-Heidke in Tel Aviv. And I do hope SBS does another National selection as epic as we have this year!
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