Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) earlier debuted Vincent Bueno’s entry “Alive” during the Ö3-Wecker radio show and debuted the music video on Eurovision’s YouTube Channel.
Written by Bueno himself, “Alive” is a funky, fresh, up-tempo song that many YouTube users have already likened to a combination of Bruno Mars, Usher, and Michael Jackson. The video also features some slick choreography and showcases some impressive moves by Bueno.
“Alive” will be performed during the first half of Semi-Final 2 on Thursday, May 14, 2020.
According to Bueno, “Alive” is about liberation from one’s own ego and feeling alive “again” having achieved that.
That sense of liberation was also evident from the start of the song creation process when Bueno brought his original song idea to ORF and the selected production team.
As he told Eurovision.tv, “The song itself has undergone massive evolution and got a good push in the final sprint. I worked with very young producers and composers (David, Davey ‘Yang, Felix van Göns, Artur Aigner), who will definitely be involved in the Austrian music scene in the future. While the song was being created, everyone on the team was able to experience how much the song was evolving, especially when everyone freed themselves from their own egos and opened up to each other.”
Bueno, who is of Ilocano heritage from the Phillipines and born on December 10, 1985 in Vienna, Austria, first came to fame in Austria after winning “Musical! Die Show” in early 2008. Bueno beat nine other contestants in the Broadway musical themed contest, earning plaudits such as original “Miss Saigon” cast members Isay Alvarez and Robert Seña along the way.
Of his being internally selected by ORF to represent Austria at Eurovision 2020, Bueno told Eurovision.tv, “Wow, even thinking about the fact that I am going to participate in the song contest gives me goosebumps. The Eurovision Song Contest is like the Eurocup for musicians and singers. The huge stage, all those artists doing their absolute best, all the songwriters and producers of Europe gathering in one place to celebrate their work while at the same time stepping into the ring – it is breathtaking and formidable. Let’s go Austria!”
Though born in Austria, Bueno also went to his parents’ homeland to try his hand at a career there, appearing on the variety show ASAP XV several times in 2010 and signing to Star Records. Bueno is a multilingual threat, with a German language 2008 debut album and a 2018 English language album called “Invicible,” along with several Tagalog singles inbetween.
With Bueno’s selection, Austria have again changed tack at Eurovision, opting for an artist with an up tempo dance number after 2019’s PAENDA, who did not make the Grand Final with the slower, ambient experimental entry “Limits,” and 2018’s 3rd placed Cesar Sampson and his suave and soulful “Nobody But You.”
However, this is not the first time Bueno has tried out for Eurovision. In 2016, Bueno entered “Wer singt für Österreich?” (“Who sings for Austria?”), the last time Austria used a national selection. Bueno came in 6th out of 10 in the first round jury votes with his entry “All we need is that love.” He was eliminated, and Zoë ended up representing Austria with “Loin d’ici,” coming in 13th in the Grand Final at Eurovision 2016.
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