Austrian NF: Further details & host revealed

Today the Austrian broadcaster ORF revealed further details regarding their national selection in 2015. As reported before, the singer Anna F. and her manager Alexander Deutsch will be responsible for scouting the acts that will compete in the national final.

The artists (bands and solo artists) will be presented in three prerecorded shows and one live show. The first show will already be recorded in December. The host will be Mirjam Weichselbraun who already hosted many of the previous Austrian national finals.

20 February
27 February
6 March
13 March (Live show)

In the first show, 20 acts will perform in front of an audience and a professional jury. The jury (made up of musicians, producers and record label bosses) will then decide which six artists will fight for the ticket to Eurovision. In the two next shows the artists will be accompanied in their creative process. They will also have to face musical challenges in order to prove they’re thoroughbred musicians.

The actual decision will be made in the final show on 13 March. The six acts that were initially selected will perform two songs each. The winner will be determined by 50% televoting and 50% jury voting.

In an extensive creative process the artists will work together with national and international songwriters and producers.

These names have been revealed so far:

– Julie Frost (composer of Lena’s winning song Satellite)
– Jimmy Harry (American Golden Globe winner, recently worked together with Madonna, Pink, Oh Land)
– Lukas Hillebrand (Austrian producer)
– I-Wolf (Austrian artist in the field of electronic music)

Kathrin Zechner, the ORF progamme director, pointed out the intention behind this national final format:

We will make use of the dynamics and the openness that has arisen from Conchita’s victory in order to establish one of the biggest musical projects in this country. The focus should be on talents that are already working in the music business but don’t perform on the big stages yet. Those talents will be supported by the coaches such as Anna F. and that’s how we’ll deliberately build a bridge to the Austrian music scene.

Are there any artists you want to see in the Austrian national selection? Let us know in the comments below or join the discussion on our forum!

Source: APA • Picture courtesy: ORF