Eurovision 2018: Australia’s Jessica Mauboy advances to final

JESSICA Mauboy nailed the Eurovision semi-final with her song We Got Love — but was it enough? Here’s everything you need to know about Eurovision.

AND we are in. Jessica Mauboy has advanced Australia into the Eurovision 2018 grand final for the fourth consecutive year.

The We Got Love pop princess made the cut in the second semi-final in Lisbon with a confident and crowd-engaging performance, managing to fill the cavernous stage with her force of personality and undisputed vocal power.

At the post semi press conference, Mauboy credited the audience for lifting her performance. Instead of a slickly choreographed television act, she busted out We Got Love like it was her own headlining concert.

We got LOTS of Love for that performance from Australia's @jessicamauboy! #ESC2018 #AllAboard #AUS pic.twitter.com/X3IS8bhhoa

— Eurovision (@Eurovision) May 10, 2018

VIC-HAAAY💙💙💙 #Eurovision #WEGOTLOVE pic.twitter.com/2Yic7i8e7D

— Jessica Mauboy (@jessicamauboy) May 10, 2018

MAUBOY CONFIDENT AHEAD OF EUROVISION DESPITE INJURY

WHY DOES AUSTRALIA BOTHER WITH EUROVISION?

The Fallin’ chart star is one of those live artists who feeds off the energy of a crowd with many commentators remarking she owned the room and scored the biggest participation and cheers of her semi.

Her experience as a special guest at the 2014 Eurovision contest in Copenhagen has also factored in Mauboy successfully interacting with the audience and helping to quell her nerves.

Mauboy in full flight. Picture: AFP

A real crowd favourite. Picture: AP

Jessica Mauboy reacts to making the final. Picture: AP

“It felt nerve wracking but at the same time, with the that kind of crowd, it’s really undeniable; there’s so much love and what my song represents is that,” she said.

“The people in the crowd, and the people watching at home feeling this electricity, this synergy...I obviously felt that back.”

The 10 countries to make the cut in the second semi final were Serbia, Moldova, Hungary, Australia, Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia and The Netherlands.

Mauboy faces a monumental challenge to win the contest with Cyprus’s fiery Eleni Foureira, Norway’s polished pop prince Alexander Rybak and Israel’s quirky loop queen Netta the popular frontrunners.

Rivalling Rybak for the young female vote is Sweden’s Benjamin Ingrosso, who cites the Bee Gees as the inspiration for his falsetto disco number Dance You Off.

Other strong contenders from Mauboy’s second semi included Denmark’s Viking hipster Rasmussen and his hairy men with the rousing Higher Ground and Moldova’s DoReDos with their hyper Eurovision moment which combined window props and comedic cheekiness.

Already in the grand final from the first semi were Cyprus, Israel, Austria, Lithuania, Finland, Albania, Ireland, Bulgaria, Estonia and Czech Republic.

The 20 semi-finalists who made the cut join the Big Five — Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the UK — along with host country Portugal who all are guaranteed a spot in Sunday’s grand final.

Michael Schulte from Germany performs the song 'You Let Me Walk Alone'. AP Photo/Armando Franca

Melovin from Ukraine with 'Under The Ladder'. AP Photo/Armando Franca

DoReDos from Moldova with 'My Lucky Day'. AP Photo/Armando Franca

Christabelle from Malta performs 'Taboo'. AP Photo/Armando Franca

While Mauboy has waxed and waned among the predictions, the down-to-earth Darwin artist has charmed the Eurovision family, winning hearts among fellow contestants and the judges media room.

The Eurovision hosts crossed to her after her performance, offering her a Portuguese tart as a riff on the fact the show is broadcast early in the morning in Australia.

“It’s the first time I’ve had breakfast with that many viewers and it’s a couple of hundred million,” Mauboy joked.

The Australian pop star and actor has built in strength through the rehearsals and proved to be one of the most popular acts with the audience at Altice Arena who enthusiastically supported her performance by clapping and singing along.

Ahead of Thursday’s jury show as she was preparing to launch into We Got Love, the audience started chanting Jessica.

That love from the crowd was repeated again during the televised semi-final today and clearly affected this seasoned live performer who broke script during to shout out “sing” to the fans a few times during her act.

She advanced to the grand final courtesy of the jury votes collated from Thursday’s non-televised performance combined with the fan votes registered after the semi-final on Friday.

Kathy McCabe travelled to Lisbon as a guest of SBS

When is the Eurovision final?

The Eurovision Grand Final starts 5am on Sunday, May 13 in Australia (AEST) on SBS.

Who are the main Eurovision contenders?

Australia

Jessica Mauboy has made a strong impression in Portugal with fellow contestants, their minders and organisers loving her song We Got Love and her positive vibes. Her production is bravely minimalistic, with the lighting designed to keep focus on her powerful pipes and contemporary choreography, a real first for Mauboy as a performer. Expect to see plenty of close-ups to counter our pocket Tina Turner getting lost on the massive stage.

Cyprus

Eleni Foureira has smashed into the top rankings since landing in Lisbon and owning the rehearsals with Fuego. Flanked by four ponytailed dancers, Foureira brings one of the sexier pop moments in the 2018 competition both in costume and performance. And she rivals our Jess for this year’s most dramatic hair-whip choreography.

Israel’s Netta brings her quirky style to Eurovision.

Israel

The short odds have been on Netta to win since her girl power song Toy was revealed. She is quirky as hell, using a looping station to build her vocals against a certified banger and backed by one of the strongest dance ensembles of the 2018 contest. It’s still undecided whether that chicken clucking in the chorus, mocking the “stupid boy” who inspired the song, is genius or nuts.

Norwegian singer Alexander Rybak hasn’t aged a day since 2009.

Norway

Alexander Rybak won Eurovision in 2009. He must have a Dorian Gray picture in his attic because this prodigiously talented pop cutie hasn’t aged a day in nine years. He may be highly rated in the 2018 field but his That’s How You Write A Song entry has already won for the cheesiest lyrics of this year’s compositions. Plus there’s his fiddle choreography. Move over Nigel Kennedy.

France

Madame Monsieur lead the pack of contestants this year bringing social politics to the Eurovision stage. Their stirring Mercy was inspired by the story of a refugee baby plucked from a sinking boat in the Mediterranean and spotlights the current immigration crisis gripping the world.

France’s Madame Monsieur provide pop with a political conscience.

The Netherlands

Waylon, who last performed in 2014 with the Common Linnets brings Americana to the stage with Outlaw In ‘Em. Yep, a Dutchman performing country rock at Eurovision. Complete with four dudes who start off as miming guitarists and drummer before ditching their instruments to bust out moves as far away from line dancing as you could imagine. It’s completely WTF.

Dutch singer Waylon offers the requisite WTF moment.

Special mentions go to:

Denmark’s Rasmussen, the Viking barista with a particularly emphatic and earnest delivery of his catchy Higher Ground.

Czech Republic’s Mikolas Josef and his infectious saxy hook-laden Lie To Me. Josef had to cut a backflip out of his choreography after he

stacked it in rehearsal and landed in hospital.

Estonia’s Elena Nechayeva brings the popera to the 2018 contest and while her voice soars, it’s the projections on the dress which steal attention.

Wait, why does Australia compete in a European song contest?

If you’re confused about why Australia is part of it, you’re not alone.

The answer is a mix of goodwill and broadcast rights.

In 2015, Australia was fast-tracked straight to the grand final to compete as a “one-off” special guest for the contest’s 60th anniversary, fitting with the “Building Bridges” theme that year. Guy Sebastian sang for Australia at the finals in Vienna.

The invitation was also a nod to Australia’s loyal fan base since the competition was first aired on Channel 28, what’s now known as SBS, in 1983.

Nearly three million viewers tuned in for the 2017 coverage.

Guy Sebastian was a special guest in 2015. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

Isaiah Firebrace was our 2017 contender. Picture: Supplied/SBS/Eurovision

SBS is an associate member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the body behind Eurovision.

A qualification requirement for entering the Eurovision Song Contest is membership to the EBU, so if nothing else Australia ticks that box.

We’ve been invited back as a wildcard entrant every year since.

Australia’s Eurovision success

Australia has never finished outside of the top 10 in our brief but successful Eurovision career.

Following Guy Sebastian’s fifth place finish in 2015 with Tonight Again, we almost won it in 2016 when we returned via Dami Im’s Sound of Silence.

Im won the jury vote but finished runner-up once viewer votes were added.

Last year 17-year-old Isaiah Firebrace finished ninth with Don’t Come Easy.

This year it’s up to Jessica Mauboy to carry the nation’s hopes.

Ireland has had the most Eurovision success with seven victories, while Norway can claim the most wooden spoons, finishing last 11 times.

How does the Eurovision competition actually work?

The national broadcaster chooses the performer for its country, which means SBS is responsible for Australia’s artist and song choice.

According to Eurovision rules, an act cannot be more than six members, the song must be under three minutes and commercially released after September 1, 2017.

Live instruments (and live animals, for the record) are forbidden.

Dami Im celebrates advancing to the final in 2016. Picture: AP Photo/Martin Meissner

Six countries automatically qualify for the Grand Final — the host nation as well as France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

The remaining entrants battle it out in two semi-finals, with the best 10 from each making it into the grand final.

After the 26 finalists perform, votes from the professional jury and the public are tallied.

The votes are weighted so the jury’s votes count towards 50 per cent of a contestant’s score, and each competing nation sends a jury member.

The other 50 per cent comes from viewer votes lodged via phone, SMS and the official Eurovision app.

Traditionally, the winning nation will host the next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Could Australia host Eurovision?

Tradition says the winning country will go on and host the following year’s competition. Given that Australia can boast three top 10 finishes in as many years, it’s not unrealistic to suggest we may soon see an Aussie take out the competition.

In 2016, former X Factor Australia winner Dami Im came startlingly close to winning before finishing runner-up. Does this mean we could see the contest hitting our shores?

Unfortunately for Aussie viewers, it doesn’t look like we will host the competition anytime soon.

In a statement on Eurovision’s official website, the organisation says “in case Australia wins, SBS will co-host the Eurovision Song Contest in a European city, together with an EBU Member Broadcaster”.