Jessica Mauboy reveals the anger behind writing her uplifting Eurovision song We Got Love
WHETHER Australia loves it or hates it, Jessica Mauboy needs Europe to embrace her We Got Love pop anthem to win all-important votes in Lisbon.
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OUT with anger, in with love, was the inspiration behind We Got Love, the song Jessica Mauboy will perform at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
Emotionally shaken by heartbreaking events including the Florida school shooting and sexual assault of a two-year-old girl in Tennant Creek, Mauboy said she wanted to write a healing song.
She penned the soaring made-for-Eurovision pop anthem with the DNA hitmakers David Musumeci and Anthony Egizii who composed the contest songs for Dami Im in 2016 and Isaiah Firebrace last year.
“All of these things we see online, whether in our indigenous communities, past and present and how the world is turning, made me angry,” she said.
“But what affected me more was the love coming from people, seeing people standing tall and strong.”
Mauboy and the SBS team behind our Eurovision campaign not only wanted an uplifting song but one which would connect with the all-important voters in Europe.
It had to have a simple lyric which would resonate with the non-English speaking fans.
“We needed something that someone who doesn’t speak English would be able to understand so as simple as it sounds, it could still mean so much more to them,” she said.
Mauboy already has a fanbase among the Eurovision community after she performed as a special guest at the 2014 competition in Copenhagen.
That star turn not only won hearts but convinced the contest’s governing body to invite Australia to perform as a wildcard entrant, beginning with Guy Sebastian in 2015, followed by Im and Firebrace.
While the pop sweetheart is acutely aware not everyone is going to love the song, she said she had been buoyed by the positive support she has felt from Eurovision fanboys and girls.
“These people who have been watching Eurovision for so long and feel I could represent them, their support has been beyond my expectations,” she said.
“I can’t wait to rip this song on stage in Lisbon.”
Anticipation for Mauboy’s song swelled earlier in the week when it leaked online before SBS and her label Sony were able to have it taken down.
She said her Copenhagen experience, although not as a competitor, had been overwhelmingly positive.
“I’ve watched Eurovision since I was a little girl but to go there as an artist and see those fans embrace what you are doing is completely humbling,” she said.
“Everyone is celebrating; there’s no shade or anyone looking you up and down, giving you daggers, there’s none of that.”
Australia can’t vote for her in the semi-finals or final in May so the artist needs to impress Eurovision fans who still may be scratching their heads as to why we are there.
It is understood she will head to Europe a week before competition on a goodwill tour to campaign for support from Eurovision fans.
I need a selfie with u in Lisbon 😀 Kiss from france #WEGOTLOVE #goodjob
— Almir (@SugaChups) March 7, 2018
I definitely got love for #wegotlove, @jessicamauboy! Are we getting a full album this year as well? Ciao from 🇮🇹😙
— Daniele (@danielewelcome) March 7, 2018
Got get 'em, kiddo @jessicamauboy #WEGOTLOVE
— Lachy Hulme (@LachyHulme) March 7, 2018
Australia’s head of delegation Paul Clarke is hoping Mauboy can go one better than Dami Im’s outstanding runner-up performance with Sound of Silence in 2016.
“From the first time we took Jessica to Eurovision, we really hoped we could return with her to compete. We Got Love is the culmination of that four year plan, and the song so fits her beautiful soul voice,” he said.
“It’s a song of belief and overcoming the status quo, and I love the passion of it. We hope you all love it and hope Europe gets behind Jessica.”
Originally published as Jessica Mauboy reveals the anger behind writing her uplifting Eurovision song We Got Love