Australia AUSTRALIA 2024 - Electric Fields - One Milkali (One Blood)

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

Ok, where was the powerful performance so many people were expecting??

It was a mess. A load of uncoordinated people moving across a stage and could barely hear the didgeridoo. I said months ago that if it created the right fun atmosphere it would qualify, and it totally failed on that front. It was joyless

 

[Sammy]

A agree the staging was really messed up, there was no clear concept and at times I was focussing on the number of people because it seemed as if there were more than the six allowed ones on stage. If that happens, you know you messed up. Still the song and the performance deserved a qualification imho.

 

[SirPeterGriffin]

One of the worst vocal performances to ever show up in recent Eurovision. Like a cat being beaten with bagpipes. So bad they couldn't even crop a listenable part for the recap. And the didgeridoo part was so tokenistic.

I can't believe a country with the resources of Australia failed to bring something properly organized.

 

[Preuss]

Overall, it was a fine little earworm and an overall package I would've liked to see in the final, mostly because of Electric Fields and the didgiredioo man... who was seriously underused

but the performance didn't come quite together. Z's vocals weren't great in the chorus (like not at all) and the inclusion of the backing dancers confused me, like it didn't really bring much

it looked like the budget was there cause the staging was beautiful and they even brought along 4 extras from Australia... but it will be interesting to see what happens next year, if SBS even decides to return that is...

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

Michael and Zacchariah didn't look particularly like they were enjoying themselves, either.

 

[0scar]

yoooo what happened here lol that was.... yeah no words

 

[Realest]

Who would have thought in 2019, that EF would ever come with a NQing Song?

 

[Preuss]

And idk... but Zach's vocal performance was really the let down! I expected way more from him... he suffered the Jess Mauboy fate (straining his voice, or just not resting enough, or nerves getting the better)

I said back in February I'd love to see them qualify and I had confidence they would if the staging concept was there and EF gave a banger of a performance, but it didn't come together at all :/

 

[Preuss]

Michael and Zacchariah didn't look particularly like they were enjoying themselves, either.

Michael looked nervous

Z had great presence but it's like I could tell by his facial expression that him himself knew his vocals were struggling

 

[Fluke]

Honestly, this was a bore. Generic danceable pop with 5 seconds of didgeridoo - why didn't they make that part much longer and more prominent? The chorus vocals were too repetitive and undynamic.

The backgrounds were too static, i imagined some kind of amazing swirling vortex, with perfect relation to the lyrics and some use of traditional art and symbols, instead it was a scrap heap of bronze with no form or motion. It looked like these "let's throw a random color splurge on the LED screen and be done with it" stagings you see in performances on cheap TV shows.

I'm really starting to feel so-so about Australia's participation overall, they sent some amazing entries but they clearly have a problem with televotes and part of me thinks that's for good reason. They really don't belong in the contest geographically or politically, and since they wouldn't get to host it, maybe people don't see any point in voting for them?

Maybe they just need to take that "year of absence" like other countries have done, to rethink their whole approach. 3 out of their 4 last entries have been disappointing either from the start or in the results.... okay, Sheldon Riley did 15th which really wasn't bad considering how "difficult" the song was, but even Voyager did badly with televotes, and it's definitely all down from the incredible streak they begun with.

 

[GRE]

This was all over the place.

 

[Lumina]

It's a shame they didn’t qualify. The semi wasn’t particularly good but they were in my top 4 in this semi actually.

 

[Preuss]

Honestly, this was a bore. Generic danceable pop with 5 seconds of didgeridoo - why didn't they make that part much longer and more prominent? The chorus vocals were too repetitive and undynamic.

The backgrounds were too static, i imagined some kind of amazing swirling vortex, with perfect relation to the lyrics and some use of traditional art and symbols, instead it was a scrap heap of bronze with no form or motion. It looked like these "let's throw a random color splurge on the LED screen and be done with it" stagings you see in performances on cheap TV shows.

I'm really starting to feel so-so about Australia's participation overall, they sent some amazing entries but they clearly have a problem with televotes and part of me thinks that's for good reason. They really don't belong in the contest geographically or politically, and since they wouldn't get to host it, maybe people don't see any point in voting for them?

Maybe they just need to take that "year of absence" like other countries have done, to rethink their whole approach. 3 out of their 4 last entries have been disappointing either from the start or in the results.... okay, Sheldon Riley did 15th which really wasn't bad considering how "difficult" the song was, but even Voyager did badly with televotes, and it's definitely all down from the incredible streak they begun with.

Agreed. Like the backdrop I thought was stunning but they could’ve done so much more! Also overall, and if they were to rewrite their song, the didgeridoo and cultural parts should’ve been way more prominent! I feel like overall this was missed potential into creating something truly great

Look, Australia are victims of their own success, bringing us amazing acts like Guy, Kate and Dami that all other Aussie acts have to live up to… COVID was a bummer for Australia considering Montaigne, but look, Sheldon came 15th which isn’t all that bad and Voyager came 9th (a really good result). Sure the entries didn’t come with as much of a gravity as their previous entries but they were still good efforts

But this NQ… I’m really interested in what happens next for SBS and Australia at ESC

 

[Mrlazzyjazzy]

I deluded myself into hope but the result was fair. If we come back which is a huge if, we need to partner with a label as SBS just expecting the act to fend for themselves is not fair.

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

The didgeridoo was so wasted. It could have been a meme moment but the presentation wasn't impressive and you could barely hear it

 

[Mrlazzyjazzy]

How Australia secured a continued future in Eurovision

There have been ups and downs for Australia at Eurovision in recent years as we struggled to gain points from European fans in the popular vote, and the competition was rocked by the Covid pandemic. But just when things were looking precarious, Voyager arrived in 2023 to reignite the flame. We wrap…

www.sbs.com.au

 

[musicfan]

People get overly critical when something doesn't qualify. This was still enjoyable. One of their better entries.

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

I wonder will this result influence the decision next year around participation.

 

[theditz83]

Undeserved NQ, but I could tell it was going to happen. The fact Zaachariaha seemed to find it impossible to connect with the camera for a solid 80% of the first part of the performance just made it seem like us viewers weren't really involved in the performance. I don't have a major issue with the vocals, but the lack of engagement and cohesion with the performance was this one's downfall for sure.

Such a shame - you'll be missed Australia. Would've rather seen you guys bopping about than flat Teya Dora with a cold on her rock again...

 

[simonPL]

Well, I was shocked this one it not qualified. So many trashed performences pass, and this one it not. Very sad.