‘I couldn’t prepare myself for it’: What you need to know about the year Australia almost stole the show at Eurovision
It’s the song contest that captivates the world and this year it will be sadly missed. But one TV network is allowing us to relive several grand finals, including one special year where Australia almost stole the show.
Hibernation
Don't miss out on the headlines from Hibernation. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There is no 2020 Eurovision because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as SBS kicks off their week of programs to fuel the insatiable appetite for the world’s biggest song contest, Hibernation dives deep into the year we almost won in Sweden in 2016.
Artist Dami Im, the creative director and then head of delegation for the Australian team Paul Clarke and DNA Songs composers Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci reveal what happened behind the scenes leading up to the contest and on the big night.
THE SONG
Anthony Egizii: “We got wind that Dami was a potential contestant and we have been massive fans all our lives because of our Italian backgrounds so we knew what they were looking for – drama, over-the-top moments with melodies and big notes.
“I didn’t want to go into the studio the day we had to get working on it because I had bronchitis and I couldn’t bring my A-game. But David had the idea of writing a song about being far away from home because at the time we were doing a lot of travel without our partners.
“He came up with the line ‘My heart awakes to the sound of silence’. No one ever says that, but it’s Eurovision! About five or six hours later, the song was done.”
David Musumeci: “I remember we played the song to the people from SBS before we had Dami’s voice on it. Anthony was singing on the demo in falsetto and they weren’t really into it.
“Then Dami sang it, they could hear the potential. I got a little bit concerned after we finished it and there was a bit of worry about using the word FaceTime in it because you can’t have anything commercial or kind of advertising in a Eurovision song – we’d never even considered that – but it all got ironed out and we didn’t have to change anything. What was more troublesome was making sure it ended dead on three minutes – that was a challenge.” (Sound of Silence won the Marcel Bezencon Award for best Eurovision song that year.)
THE ROAD TO SWEDEN
Paul Clarke: “When we got to Sweden, we decided we could play with the end, free form the end of the song, which a lot of people got excited about.
“A few commentators had said the second verse was boring and it wasn’t an interesting song, so we worked out a strong idea for the staging of the second verse, the paradox of being in an overly communicative world and being isolated by yourself.
“I’d heard from numerous people in the record company that Dami couldn’t dance. So we put her on the box, she couldn’t move, but she would stand out, and the focus was on this person who was sort of isolated and surrounded by this Blade Runner dystopian world with the lights.
“The Russian staging cost over $1 million, and I kept telling her ‘I just want to beat Russia!’; they were so sure they were going to win. And she said: What do you think about Ukraine? And I was ‘That could never win! It’s a completely immemorable tune, no one could sing you that song back!’”
Dami Im: “It was a whole other level to X Factor. People had told me how crazy it was going to be, but I couldn’t prepare myself for it. All these people from different countries, Eurovision flags flying all around the city, it was like Disneyland, a lot of fun, but also I couldn’t just enjoy it and have fun because I was there like an Olympic athlete, I had to conserve my energy, even though there were so many events to attend.
“I knew if I did too much partying, I would compromise the actual performance and that was the last thing I wanted. On the plane on the way over, I was staring out the window thinking about what number I would finish and on the way home, I would have that result and that would be that.”
THE DRESS
Paul Clarke: “There was such a fine beauty to the design of the Steven Khalil dress and the way she looked on camera and she was something that felt different for Europe. I was always mindful of a snowdome … I was trying to create this otherworldly snowdome.”
Dami Im: “It’s always that tension between the styling team and the actual performer. I wanted to look good, but I’m a singer first and I need to breathe when I perform.
“It was such a tight dress, I was going blue after the first rehearsal, so we had to adjust it. Also coming off the big box onstage, which looked really pretty and sparkly, but it was made of this sandpaper material, so every time I would come off the box, the silk would be frayed. You couldn’t see it on the screen, but that delicate, beautiful dress was such a mess by the end.
“Over there, I was still eating all the delicious meatballs, but because of the hectic schedule and the stress I was feeling, I did lose a few kilos and it did show.”
THE VOTING
Paul Clarke: “They had already collected the jury votes and one of the Eurovision heads gave me the heads-up: ‘Well, it’s up to the audience now. Whatever happens, tonight is Australia’s night. If you win, don’t tell what country you are going to do it in next year.
(If Australian wins, we have to co-host with a European country) Tonight is just for Australia.’ So the countdown starts and we won the jury votes and were so far in front. I thought it would be impossible for us to win the public vote in Europe, but if we come third with the fans, I thought we could still win it. It was building and it was building. And at the very last moment, we came second.
“They had changed the voting system for Sweden … we actually would have won the year before under the old system. But it was just a moment of great validation for Australia, a moment of absolute joy.
Dami Im: “After all the performances, while they were counting the votes, we were all dancing around the room and having the time of their lives when Justin Timberlake was performing, doing the conga line, it was insane.
“I’ve never seen that much joy in a room. Then it was time for the results and it was very strange because I had been told to keep my inner-ear pack on, the one you wear during your performance.
“Normally you take it off, but Paul told me to keep mine on and I thought everybody else had too. Later on I found out it was me and maybe one or two other artists who had to keep it on because we could win and we would need to sing again. As the results started, everyone in the Australian team got tense and serious because they suddenly realised they didn’t know what to do if we won. I thought that was so funny. I was the only one who had no clue.
“The cameras just wouldn’t leave us the whole time, we kept getting the 12 vote from the countries. And the public votes came in and we dropped down … everything happened so quickly … freak out, freak out … oh, we’re second.”
Paul Clarke: “I feel for Dami that she didn’t win, but it’s not to say that it won’t ever happen. I think that’s one thing on her radar that she would love to achieve. I have no doubt that Australia will win the European Song Contest, none at all, it’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of when.”
SBS will broadcast the Eurovision grand finals from 2015 to 2019 each day this week from 1.30pm and then their Big Night In on Saturday from 7.30pm.
Originally published as ‘I couldn’t prepare myself for it’: What you need to know about the year Australia almost stole the show at Eurovision