Her father Christof Straub is one of the maestros behind San Marino’s Eurovision 2018 talent search “1 in 360”.

And today organisers confirmed that Zoë — Austria’s Eurovision 2016 star — will serve as one of three judges when the live shows kick off in the new year.

The “Loin d’ici” singer, who placed second in the televote in her Eurovision semi-final, was the picture of enthusiasm in the official video announcing her role.

“Hi! I’m Zoë and I’m really, really happy to announce that I’m going to be a judge on 1 in 360, helping San Marino to find the Internet candidate and official act to represent San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.”

“We’ve already received more than 600 applications from all over the world, and I really, really enjoyed listening to all of these amazing and gifted artists. I’ve been doing that all day long.”

https://youtu.be/TLPK9BbKmes

San Marino’s second wildcard

Zoë also had the honour of revealing how San Marino will select the second of three wildcards on offer.

“On the 1st of December, which is also my birthday, all likes on the web site will be reset and then you have 10 days to vote for your favourite artist,” she explained. “On the 10th of December at 11:59pm we will count all the likes and the artist with the most likes will get the second wildcard.”

This follows the November 1 announcement about the first wildcard, who, along with the two other wildcard entries, will progress to the final 10 and live shows.

The first of these wildcards will be placed in the hands of the OGAE fan groups around the world.

It’s not the first time OGAE groups have actively been involved in helping with song choices. OGAE UK is heavily involved in the selection process for Eurovision: You Decide.

It might not just be the OGAE who have their say, however. 1 in 360 have said they will allow fan groups on Facebook to have a vote as well. All groups interested in applying must send an e-mail to [email protected] by November 23.

The groups chosen will be revealed in a shortlist on November 24. They’ll then have a week to send in their top 10 acts, with points awarded 12-1 in traditional Eurovision style. The candidate with the most votes from this process will be the first wildcard and be revealed on December 3.

Ahead of today’s first judge reveal, fans found a page naming three judges on a site showcasing the design for the 1 in 360 competition, which appeared to have been some sort of pitch brief involving their art direction.

Interestingly, the portion of the site was removed after fans began sharing screengrabs of the judges section. It listed Zoë along with Eurovision 2015 winner Måns Zelmerlöw (who spoke out on Instagram and said that it’s just “a rumour”). The third judge listed was UK radio host Dave Berry.

Are you excited about the first 1 in 360 judge confirmation? Are you hoping that Måns ends up being the second judge? And who are you rooting for in the 1 in 360 race? Let us know in the comments box below.

Read more San Marino Eurovision news

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4dmGuX247s

6 Comments
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Marvyn
Marvyn
6 years ago
Talentina Monetta
Talentina Monetta
6 years ago

“… all of these amazing and gifted artists”
kii

YoungsterJoey
YoungsterJoey
6 years ago

Really curious how much $ this is costing San Marino or if it is cost-effective?

Hada
Hada
6 years ago
Reply to  YoungsterJoey

Most likely someone else is footing the bill.

Matt
Matt
6 years ago

I feel like this went from being something with a lot of potential for San Marino to a very drawn out process that could very likely have a rubbish outcome