Reviewing Eurovision - Australia Decides... from the audience!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would be well aware that Kate Miller-Heidke is off to Eurovision! But on Saturday, she and her icy crown were only a burly cameraman and a glittery fence away from this diehard Eurovisioner.

Last weekend, Australia voted in Kate Miller-Heidke’s pop-opera mega-hit Zero Gravity, as our representative for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, but here’s everything else that went down.

Fans from all over Australia flocked to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre dressed in ABBA’s Waterloo outfits, 2007 Ukraine inspired silver spacesuits, and sparkly mini-shorts from 2010 Lithuania, ultimately paying homage to the history of Eurovision.

Ten acts competed, but one rose above them all (both in dress-height and octaves).

In the ad-break before her name was even announced, Kate climbed a ladder and stepped into her towering skirt, sending the crowd into a frenzy. As the lights turned on and the first note was sung, the audience began screaming their lungs out to the point where we had nothing left to give - all while her acrobatic ‘shadow self’ (affectionately nicknamed ‘The Dementor’) danced to new heights.

Some “critics” (aka my brother), said that Kate’s get-up was a hybrid of Disney’s Frozen and Romania's 2013 vampire-esque popera act. While the resemblance is somewhat uncanny, the pole-dancing, mega-skirt and tiara-wearing act took her classically trained voice to a whole new level and had an impact so memorable, she fans making crowns out of zip-ties.

The final applause after Kate’s performance was so loud that hosts Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst had to clutch their earpieces to hear themselves when announcing the next act. Kate successfully secured the top jury vote from industry professionals and the public’s vote for her epic performance - sending her to Eurovision for 2019.

But competition was tough, with the other nine acts vying for the title.

In second place was another fan favourite, Electric Fields’ 2000 and Whatever. The performance featured Michael Ross’ dynamic keyboard playing and lyrics that had the crowd singing along in Zaachariaha Fielding’s native tongue, an instance that the performer called “a goosebumps moment”.

Sheppard performed a catchy tune reminiscent of their well-known commercial smash Geronimo, and evoked some serious mermaid-princess vibes, ultimately finishing in third with On My Way.

And thanks to the public’s vote, Courtney Act’s Fight for Love snatched up fourth with her slick performance of red leather clad dancers and a masterpiece of an outfit that Lady Gaga and Ireland’s 2011 Jedward would be proud of.

Viewers were also graced with surprise performances from Australian Idol’s Casey Donovan who opened the show with Guy Sebastian’s Tonight Again, and Dami Im singing her second-place runner up song (aka the unofficial Aus-Eurovision anthem) while the votes were counted.

Check out all of the performers including Ella Hoopa, Aydan, Leea Nanos, Alfie Arcuri, Mark Vincent and Tania Doko online at SBS on demand (and see if you can to spot yours truly!)

This was just the warm up for Eurovisioners across the world to fine tune their costumes and break out the drinking games in the lead up to the first Semi-Final of Eurovision for 2019.  

For now, it’s back to our Eurovision Party Spotify Playlists - See you in May, zip-tie crown and all!