Throw on your green and gold, hug your Koala close and tuck into some Tim-Tams.
On Saturday night, Australia will select it’s act for Eurovision in it’s first ever national final, Eurovision – Australia Decides.
Ten acts will take to the stage and at the end of the night one of them will win the ticket to Tel Aviv.
And ahead of Saturday night’s showdown, SBS has released the running order for the show.
Ella Hooper has the honour of opening the show with “Data Dust”. Electric Fields follow second and Mark Vincent is on third.
Aydan sings “Dust” in fourth and Drag Race star Courtney Act will “Fight For Love” in fifth.
This year’s youngest competitor Leea Nanos sings “Set Me Free” in sixth and fan favourite Sheppard sing “On My Way” after that.
Alfie Arcuri is on eigth, Kate Miller-Heidke sings “Zero Gravity” in ninth and Tania Doko will close the show with “Piece Of Me”.
Does the Eurovision – Australia Decides Running Order guarantee success?:
Running order is typically seen as highly important to a national final.
Where an act sings can determine their chances of overall success in the competition. In particular, acts singing later in the show tend to do better and are also often interpreted as being a broadcaster’s preferred choice for Eurovision.
With that in mind fan favourite Sheppard appear to be in a strong position in seventh. At the other hand of the spectrum Electric Fields – another fan favourite – face an uphill battle performing in second place. Famously, nobody has ever won Eurovision performing from that spot, however there have been upsets.
Estonia’s 2017 act Koit Toome & Laura performed second in their national final and still won Eesti Laul.
It should also be noted that the public vote will be open from 1am (AEDT). Voters will be able to watch and assess individual performance videos from today’s jury rehearsal, which may serve to neutralise the advantage of a preferential spot in the running order.
Eurovision – Australia Decides Running Order in Full:
- Ella Hooper – “Data Dust”
- Electric Fields – “2000 and Whatever”
- Mark Vincent – “This Is Not The End”
- Aydan – “Dust”
- Courtney Act – “Fight For Love”
- Leea Nanos – “Set Me Free”
- Sheppard – “On My Way”
- Alfie Arcuri – “To Myself”
- Kate Miller-Heidke – “Zero Gravity”
- Tania Doko – “Piece Of Me”
What do you make of the running order? Who’s your fave to win? Let us know in the comments below!
Really enjoying that data dust song, super relevant to today! Probs won’t make it though as they haven’t got as large a following unfortunately
when will they reveal the winner of Australia decides I wonder, cause I’m sure Australia got some good songs this year and can give the UK some help, I mean Courtney Act has a huge following, and a nice song that could do well, but who will win??
Oof super rough last note there for Alfie. Really impressed with the younger contestants. Got chills at Aydan delivering a damn near flawless vocal. Leea was pretty good too though she looked (and sounded) really nervous at times.
Unfortunately, none of the 3 supposed front-runners impressed in their live performances. 🙁
Such a shame Alfie butchered his last note…
Jeez, they should totally hire someone to stage 2000 and whatever. The camera shots were a mess! I know they don’t have money so they have to get it done themselves. But if they win, SBS should go all out to polish the performance. You can’t waste a good song like that! Kate is now too OTT for me with the staging. Alfie is the biggest surprise so he will definitely score high with the jury vote.
Well, Sacha Jean-Baptiste has been working with the Australian delegation for the last two years and I think Electric Field is an act that really fits her best moments in Eurovision. I bet she would love to work with Zaachariaha.
Pick Kate or I will RAGE!
Same here!!!!
I will rage if they pick Kate. The staging looks like a circus.
They can change that for Eurovision. Let’s focus on the songs here.
Well done, SBS! This is a great show. I still think the final result will depend on how much risk Australia is willing to take. Sheppard is the safe choice (effective, friendly, accessible), Kate the risky one (creative, charmingly over the top, divisive) and Electric Fields lies between them (fresh, modern, energetic). I would pick “2000 and Whatever” because I think Zaachariaha is fantastic and they can still improve the performance by picking the right camera angles to match his energy. But I still have a sweet spot for Kate’s anarchic entry.
Rooting for “2000 and Whatever” and “Zero Gravity”.
“Dust” and “Set Me Free” would be good choices too.
I think SBS put Electric Fields 2nd on purpose, knowing that they were a huge fan favorite going into the competition. I think that this show isn’t only determining the Australian act, but demonstrating that SBS can handle a future Eurovision Asia contest. It makes sense that they’d want some drama and suspense instead of an obvious winner.
I could be wrong but that’s my guess.
that blonde girl from sheppard fakeing to play guitar is evreything…lol
Strongest acts tonight where Sheppard’s On My Way and Kate’s Zero Gravity. The race is between these two acts.
I have loved ‘2000 and Whatever’ in the run-up to the competition, but that performance was…not great. They also seem to be using a lot of recorded vocals. Disappointing, but I think it can be salvaged before Eurovision if they manage to make it through, though after viewing all performances I now expect Kate Miller-Heidke to go through.
Based on the running order, it seems the producers want Zero Gravity to win. Personally I think Sheppard would be a much better choice because I’m sure they’ll do the best at Eurovision out of all the acts.
The performances are already available on the website: https://www.sbs.com.au/programs/eurovision
Thank you very much for the information! Overall I liked most of the performances I’ve seen, however I do not like the concept of being able to vote before the show – it just gives the privilege to the artists with big fanbases. And Electric Fields… I still think it’s the best, they have great stage presence, but it’s so horribly shot! I swear, those random shots make their performance look like a big mess! It makes me just boil inside!
You’re welcome! I also don’t like the concept of voting before the show. It always bother me when they do that in singing competitions, because the message it’s “it doesn’t matter if they screw up things, just vote for the one you already liked before”. And I also agree that they could film EF’s performance way better. I wonder if this happens because Zaachariaha just goes with his heart while performing and doesn’t follow a previously designed routine.
It’s very possible. But still, it doesn’t explain the weird tempo or angles of those and the overuse of wide shots.
Thank you for the hint, Sabrina. Doesn’t Kate look AWESOME? Although she did struggle with some notes and the elevator dress has been done before.
You’re welcome, Bean (or should I call you Vanilla? :P). Kate had indeed trouble with some notes. It’s a difficult song to perform live after all. I can see either the jury punishing her harshly for those mistakes or going nuts for the whole crazyness of the entry. I like a lot the staging idea, but I think some things could be trimmed down a little bit. For example, I don’t know if the elevator needed to be that high. And her skirt needs some improvement.
You can choose what to call me. 😛 The voting will be very interesting indeed. After this performance, it could go either way, it could both flop or win.
Jury Show: Electric Fields and Kate were standouts and got the biggest applause. Sheppard was a bit lacklustre (to me at least – lot of just jumping, which to be fair is their thing, but didn’t get that big of a reaction from the crowd), and the staging was my least favourite. Kate Miller-Heidke was absolutely wonderful – the staging concept is amazing and perfectly complements and adds to the song – though some vocals felt a little soft. Everyone else was decent, Leea was a bit nervous, Courtney Act’s vocals were pretty decent. It was a great show and… Read more »
And also, jury show footage was released.:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jx9gppjck27h4ae/VNR.mp4?dl=0
While Electric Fields (that energy!) and Leea’s performances to me are the best ones, Kate’s is just a constant WTF.
Agree! Electric Fields have such a captivating energy! His live isn’t the best I heard from them, but the vibes they are giving to me completely overshadow the “technical problems”. Leea and Sheppard (I don’t know if they can live up all the hype) are good too. In my opinion, Kate’s one is a WTF but in a bad way; it’s like a circus…and her faces… OMG, she’s out of the competition, I think. Though if the viewers have the typical opinion about Eurovision being a circus they might go for her.
Edit: So… yeah, people love the circus.
OMG, I really hope the running order doesn’t influence Electric Fields outcome!
Also, where and when are Europeans able to see the show? I’m really looking forward to it.
I should be angry, that the producers put Electric Fields in the death spot, but I know they’re going to stand out anyway. Good news for all Kate and Sheppard fans, we’re going to have a thrilling voting on Saturday.
Electric Fields second!!?!!? SBS obviously doesn’t want to do well in Eurovision this year… Oh well…
Aydan, Electric Fields, or Kate for the win!!!!!!!!
Sheppard was really bad .. jury will kill this.. now the fight will be between Electric Fields and Kate
Where is the live performance?
on twitter are snippets 10-20 seconds
It increasingly feels like On My Way is the Big Bad that Must Be Defeated (capitals deliberate)
Based on the reaction from the jury rehearsal on social media, Electric Fields and Kate got the best crowd reaction. I hope it will reflect on tomorrow’s result.
Oh crap! Just watch the snippet of all the songs. Kate is definitely killing it.
Leeaaa
Australia be wise – on my way will do well ofc but vote zero gravity and electric fields they offer so much more to Eurovision!!
They really did Electric Fields dirty 🙁 really hope they will win <3
vote for song number 9 y’all!!!
YES!!! #9 can win the whole Eurovision, so listen carefully, Australia: you have ONE job! 😉
I never thought us three would all agree on something one time, but yes. Kate needs to win. Electric fields would be great too imo.
Other way around for me. Both good choices though.
I… entirely agree! Seriously, this is important. Vote for song 9, please. 🙂
Ah I cannot wait to vote for Electric Fields and Zero Gravity! I really hope either one of these two represent Australia. I’m sick of my country playing it safe with generic pop songs. Time to show Europe we can take risks for once!!
WOW, GOOD JOB AUSTRALIA BURYING THE FAN FAVORITE IN THE RUNNING ORDER. Still think that they should win, don’t know if it will, tho, sadly???
Literally haven’t heard a single person say that they want Sheppard to win.
I really like Sheppard’s entry but I’m definitely hoping for Electric Fields to win!
Worth noting that Yodel It won Romania’s national final from 2nd in the draw too… 2nd is not necessarily a problem in a national final. Pasha Parfeny won a national final with over 20 songs from 3rd draw, so performing early isn’t necessarily as big of a deal as at Eurovision.
Sheppard for the win!
I don’t wanna sound superficial but good lord Zaachariaha Fielding is one stunning guy. I am completely fascinated by him and his stage presence.
Number nine for the win, number five in the bin.
“It should also be noted that the public vote will be open from 1am (AEDT)”
As a West Australian who usually has to suffer with not getting a vote in things like this, that is music to my ears.