Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Technicolour" written by Montaigne and Dave Hammer. The song was performed by Montaigne, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Montaigne was announced as the Australian representative on 2 April 2020 after they were due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Don't Break Me" before the 2020 event's cancellation. The song Montaigne performed, "Technicolour", was presented to the public on 4 March 2021.

Eurovision Song Contest 2021
Country Australia
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 2 April 2020
Song: 4 March 2021
Selected entrantMontaigne
Selected song"Technicolour"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (14th)
Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2020 • 2021 • 2022►

Australia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015 by invitation from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) as a "one-off" special guest to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Eurovision. On 17 November 2015, the EBU announced that SBS had been invited to participate in the 2016 contest and that Australia would once again take part. In 2015, Australia was guaranteed a spot in the final of the contest and was allowed to vote during both semi-finals and the final; however, from the 2016 contest and onwards, Australia would have to qualify to the final from one of two semi-finals and could only vote in the semi-final in which the nation was allocated to compete.

Australia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 18 May 2021. Performing during the show in position 5, "Technicolour" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final, making it the first time that Australia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since their debut in 2015.

Background
Main article: Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest since 1983, and the contest has gained a cult following over that time, primarily due to the country's strong political and cultural ties with Europe. Paying tribute to this, the 2014 contest semi-finals included an interval act featuring Australian singer Jessica Mauboy.[1] Australian singers have also participated at Eurovision as representatives of other countries, including Olivia Newton-John (1974, United Kingdom), two-time winner Johnny Logan (1980 and 1987, Ireland), Gina G (1996, United Kingdom), and Jane Comerford as lead singer of Texas Lightning (2006, Germany).[2]

Tying in with the goal of Eurovision—to showcase "the importance of bringing countries together to celebrate diversity, music and culture", the 2015 theme of "Building Bridges", and arguing that they could not hold "the world's biggest party" to celebrate the 60th edition of Eurovision without inviting Australia, the EBU announced on 10 February 2015 that the country would compete at that year's edition as a special guest participant.[2] Along with the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), and the host country of Austria, Australia was given automatic entry into the final to "not reduce the chances" of the semi-final participants.[3] On 17 November 2015, the EBU announced that SBS had been invited to participate in the 2016 contest and that Australia would once again take part, however they would have to qualify for the final from one of two semi-finals and could only vote in the semi-final in which the nation was competing. On 12 February 2019, SBS confirmed Australia's participation in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest after securing an invitation to participate until 2023.[4] In 2019, Australia was represented by Kate Miller-Heidke and the song "Zero Gravity". The country ended in ninth place in the grand final with 284 points.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

Montaigne was confirmed as the artist that would represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 on 2 April 2020.[5] Their Eurovision song, "Technicolour", was premiered on 4 March 2021 on Triple J, while the digital download release of the full song occurred on 5 March 2021 and the live performance occurred on 6 March 2021 during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2021, broadcast on SBS as well as streamed online at SBS On Demand.[6][7] The song was written by Montaigne along with Dave Hammer.[8]

I initially started writing the song after a catch-up call with my mum that was really emotional and had me crying on the floor thinking of that first line, 'I want to be close to my mother.' The song became about resilience and the courage that comes from being able to be vulnerable, being able to ask for help, and knowing that in solidarity and togetherness we are stronger as people.

— Montaigne about "Technicolour"[9]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. For the 2021 contest, the semi-final allocation draw held for 2020 which was held on 28 January 2020, was used. Australia was placed into the first semi-final, which was held on 18 May 2021, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[10]

Once all the competing songs for the 2021 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Australia was set to perform in position 5, following the entry from Sweden and preceding the entry from North Macedonia.[11]

On 20 April 2021, it was confirmed that due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as international borders had been closed since March 2020, the Australian delegation would not be able to travel to Rotterdam as it would have to travel from Sydney to Amsterdam via a stopover in either Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Singapore, and they would be subject to 14-day quarantine period upon returning home to Australia. Thus Australia performed via their 'live-on-tape' recording, filmed at SBS's studios in Sydney.[12][13]

At the end of the show Australia was not announced among 10 qualifiers of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final, making it the first time that Australia failed to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since their debut in 2015.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with a diversity in gender and age represented. The judges assess each entry based on the performances during the second Dress Rehearsal of each show, which takes place the night before each live show, against a set of criteria including: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[14] Jury members may only take part in panel once every three years, and are obliged to confirm that they are not connected to any of the participating acts in a way that would impact their ability to vote impartially. Jury members should also vote independently, with no discussion of their vote permitted with other jury members.[15] The exact composition of the professional jury, and the results of each country's jury and televoting were released after the grand final; the individual results from each jury member were also released in an anonymised form.[16][17]

Points awarded to Australia
Points awarded to Australia (Semi-final 1)[18]
Score Televote Jury
12 points  Ukraine
10 points
8 points  Lithuania
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by Australia

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Australian jury:[16][17]

Detailed voting results from Australia (Semi-final 1)[18]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points Rank Points
01  Lithuania8777109238
02  Slovenia15101411141415
03  Russia364574747
04  Sweden51411455612
05  Australia
06  North Macedonia12151312121513
07  Ireland41212488392
08  Cyprus2232221056
09  Norway7888910183
10  Croatia1413156151365
11  Belgium1091113131211
12  Israel1355163874
13  Romania611610111114
14  Azerbaijan113109465101
15  Ukraine94915374112
16  Malta11231112210
Detailed voting results from Australia (Final)[19]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points Rank Points
01  Cyprus5579137414
02  Albania25232224242624
03  Israel1214142591415
04  Belgium23222126252523
05  Russia91013141610112
06  Malta1234111238
07  Portugal10151523101518
08  Serbia2462012231292
09  United Kingdom8212422182021
10  Greece1391718111311
11   Switzerland4182221065
12  Iceland2716338112
13  Spain2181621191926
14  Moldova22202515222425
15  Germany26262610262219
16  Finland1625238151883
17  Bulgaria61197179216
18  Lithuania1712102081156
19  Ukraine11455665210
20  France1532154774
21  Azerbaijan20131917212117
22  Norway181718162023101
23  Netherlands31661378322
24  Italy7244345647
25  Sweden14181119121620
26  San Marino19191211141713

References
  1. Vincent, Peter (9 May 2014). "Jessica Mauboy performs at Eurovision Song Contest". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. Kemp, Stuart; Plunkett, John (10 February 2015). "Eurovision Song Contest invites Australia to join 'world's biggest party'". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  3. Siim, Jarmo (10 February 2015). "Australia to compete in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  4. Niazi, Dan (12 February 2019). "Australia's Eurovision participation secured until 2023". escXtra. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  5. Jiandani, Sanjaj (2 April 2020). "Australia: SBS confirms Montaigne for Eurovision 2021". EscToday.
  6. "Montaigne (@actualmontaigne) on Twitter: "MY EUROVISION SONG 'TECHNICOLOUR' OUT TOMORROW ( U SNEAKY LIL EUROVISIONS WHO SCOPED IT OUT EARLY ) @SBSEurovision #SBSEurovision". Twitter. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  7. "Montaigne gives radio premiere of Eurovision 2021 song "Technicolour"". wiwibloggs. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  8. Smith, David (5 March 2021). "Australia: Montaigne's "Technicolour" gets its official release". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  9. "Montaigne". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  10. Groot, Evert (17 November 2020). "2020 Semi-Final line-up to stay for 2021". eurovision.tv. Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  11. "Semi-Final running orders revealed". Eurovision.tv. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  12. "Australia to compete from home using 'live-on-tape' performance". Eurovision.tv. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  13. "Semi-final 1: Second rehearsals". Eurovisionworld. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  14. "Voting–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  15. "Fairness–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  16. "Juries in the First Semi-Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  17. "Juries in the Grand Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  18. "Results of the First Semi-Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  19. "Results of the Grand Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
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