Australia’s Head of Delegation Paul Clarke is delighted that Jessica Mauboy will represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. “Jessica Mauboy’s performance at ESC Copenhagen 2014 opened the door for Australia to compete at Eurovision,” he tells ESCDaily.
“Before the great moments of Guy, Dami and Isaiah there was Jess. She touched the hearts of the Eurovision directors and proved just how talented our vocalists are,” Paul Clarke says in a press statement. “Since then we have always wanted to give Jessica a shot at the competition, and this year the stars aligned. We can’t wait to develop a great song and stage production with Jessica and her team, and recreate her Eurovision-style as a galactic soul diva.”
Joel Creasey: ‘Jess is a true star’
Commentator Joel Creasey is also a great fan of Jessica Mauboy. He thinks she will do well in Lisbon. “Ever since my failed audition for the Young Divas back in ’08, I’ve been trying everything I can to work with Jess Mauboy. Her response has mostly been ‘Can I Get a Moment To Myself?!’ – but finally, the stars have aligned! Jess is a true star with a powerhouse voice and has a great personality to boot. J-Mau, you’re going to be amazing. Let’s show Europe what we’re made of!”
The 2018 contest will mark Australia’s fourth year of competing in the event, following a remarkable record of three top ten finishes, with Guy Sebastian’s fifth place in 2015, Dami Im’s second place in 2016, and Isaiah Firebrace coming ninth in the 2017 contest, which was held earlier this year in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since joining the competition, Australia’s results of 5th, 2nd and 9th put Australia second only to Sweden over the past three years.
The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s largest television music competition. In 2017, the Semi Finals and Grand Final attracted 182 million viewers worldwide and reached more than three million Australians.