With this year’s Eurovision competition getting closer, your mate Joe Fortune is here providing you with a list of Australia’s best Eurovision contestants over the years along with a quick look at how we’ve done in the ten years since we started being regulars in the annual singing comp, and some info on when and where this year’s Eurovision will be held.
Eurovision 2024 Recap
Current champions are Switzerland which was represented by the artist Nemo with the song “The Code,” The Swiss defeated the heavily fancied Croatia which had the band Baby Lasagna performing “Rim Tim Tagi Dim.” Disappointingly our Aussie performer Electric Fields didn’t qualify for the finals’ night.
When did Australia start competing in Eurovision?
Australia was invited to compete as a nation for the first time in 2015. Since then, we have had a representative every year, although there have been mixed results on reaching finals’ night. With 2020’s competition cancelled, Montaigne was called back to represent and compete for Australia again in 2021.
Australian Results in Eurovision 2015 – 2025
2015: Guy Sebastian “Tonight Again”
2016: Dami Im “Sound of Silence”
2017: Isaiah “Don’t Come Easy”
2018: Jessica Mauboy “We Got Love”
2019: Kate Miller-Heidke “Zero Gravity”
2020: Montaigne “Don’t Break Me”
2021: Montaigne “Technicolour”
2022: Sheldon Riley “Not the Same”
2023: Voyager “Promise”
2024: Electric Fields “One Milkali (One Blood)”
2025: Go-Jo “Milkshake Man”
Australian Eurovision Results
So far our Aussies have had a mixed set of results in the few years since we started competing. We’ve had two competitors who did not get through the semi-finals to make it to the big night, but apart from that we’ve had seven performers in action, five of which have landed in the top ten so let’s get into the countdown of Australia’s best Eurovision entrants…
Isaiah
“Don’t Come Easy” is a song by Australian artist Isaiah Firebrace and was the Aussie’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017. It finished in ninth place in the final with a total of 173 points scoring 171 from the juries and just two from the televote. Firebrace said he felt he did him and the country proud especially after receiving fourth place in the jury vote. His song managed to get into the top 50 in both the Belgium and Swedish pop charts.
Kate Miller-Heidke
“Zero Gravity” was Kate Miller-Heidke’s Eurovision song in 2019 after winning both the jury and public vote at Eurovision, Australia Decides on 9th February 2019. During the first semi-final of Eurovision, which took place on 14th May 2019, Kate placed first with 261 points and so successfully qualified for the final. Kate was excited about this result and was praised for her unique performance, mixing powerful vocals with a stunning visual display, marking a memorable moment in the qualifying competition. Come the final she ended up in ninth place just like Isaiah had. She scored 284 points and then reached number two in the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.
Voyager
Next on our list is another entry which finished ninth, something that is far becoming a familiar position for us Aussies! Voyager performed well at the contest, as the synth metal rock band from Perth delivered a ripper version of their tune “Promise.” Singer Danny Estrin revved up the crowds by performing from a 1980s car, Australia earned a decent score of 151 points, getting a maximum 12 points from both Portugal and Iceland’s jury votes, but somewhat disappointingly only 21 points from the public vote. The song made the pop charts in Australia, UK, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania and Sweden. At the APRA Music Awards of 2024, Promise was shortlisted for the song of the year.
Guy Sebastian
We all know Guy Sebastian as one of the coaches on The Voice Australia, but can you believe 10 years ago it was him and his song “Tonight Again” which ended up finishing in fifth place in the grand final, which was a great result given it was Australia’s first ever official participation in the competition in 2015. Sebastian received a total of 196 points, with strong support from both the jury and the public votes, and since this moment we have never looked back.
His song performed well in the charts, both here in Australia and internationally. In Aus, it peaked at number 4 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and it was certified Platinum for sales. The song also received plenty of airplay and sales overseas, but it didn’t chart as high internationally that said in the UK, the song peaked at number 36 in its singles chart. Whilst in Ireland, it reached number 20 and in Sweden, the song entered the charts and hit number 44.
Dami Im
So here we are, our best entrant to date… back in 2016 in just our second year in Eurovision Dami Im came so close to claiming the prize as she finished second with her song Sound of Silence. She put on an unforgettable performance in the grand final, where her superb vocal ability and intense delivery won over both the live audience and viewers at home all over Europe and the world. Dami’s performance featured a minimalist stage design along with her powerful vocals and the song’s blend of contemporary pop and orchestral elements she received widespread praise.
“Sound of Silence” was a hit with both the public and the juries, and Dami Im finished in second place overall, just behind Ukraine’s Jamala with her song “1944.” Im received a total of 511 points, with the winner landing on 534.
As you would expect from a tune that went well in the competition, her song was a hit in countries all over Europe. The song peaked at number 39 in Austria, number 10 in Belgium (Flanders), and number 11 in Finland. It reached number 69 in France, number 57 in Germany, and number 9 in Iceland. In Sweden, it got to number 17, while in Switzerland, it was a number 55 hit.
The track also charted in the UK, where it went ok by reaching number 160 in the UK Singles Chart and number 54 in the UK Singles Downloads Chart. Also, it was in the charts at number 37 in Spain.
Eurovision 2025
If you’re looking forward to watching this year’s Eurovision tournament then here’s all the details you’ll be needing to know.
The competition will take place from Tuesday 13th May to Saturday 17th May in Basel, Switzerland. As it is late in the evening in Europe you can watch the contest live on SBS from Wednesday 14th May to Sunday 18th May, with coverage available on both SBS and SBS On Demand.
This year’s Aussie performer is Go-Jo “Milkshake Man” . Let’s hope we make the grand final this year, so we have someone to support early in the morning on Sunday 18th May 2025. If you’re not familiar with Go-Jo, he is the solo project of 29-year-old Marty Zambotto. He is talented and plays the guitar whilst riding a unicycle at the same time, so there’ll be plenty going on whilst he is performing that you can be sure of!