Australia AUSTRALIA 2022 - Sheldon Riley - Not The Same

[escYOUnited]

I was told at six years old
They'd avoid me if my heart was cold
Found it hard to talk and speak my mind
They'd never like the things that I would like

'Cause you're told to play, but you're not the same
As the other kids playing the same game
Tried to jump on in, but they push away
So far away

I'm not the same, no
I'm not the same, no

Years go by, I tried and tried
My father asked if today I smiled
I said, "Yes I did", but that's a lie
Oh, I always tell those lies

And you run and hide, hide the break inside
Do you realise that the light shines bright?
Through those, oh, who broke inside

I'm not the same, no
I'm not the same, no
I'm not the same, no
I'm not the same, no

'Cause you never want to be a kind of person
You can work it for those ones who cannot word it
Because you've been the kind of person who felt this pain
Yeah, I felt this pain

So you're gonna leave the pain and find another way to make yourself another game
Maybe one for all to play
'Cause it's not just me who's not the same
We are not the same

I'm not the same, no
We are not the same, no
We are not the same, no
We are not the same, no​

 

[Preuss]

We have only had two missteps at Eurovison.

Jess and Montaigne.

I get the vibe since Montaigne couldn't compete in 2020 for 2021 SBS just let her do whatever she wanted as they knew she wasn't going to be attending anyway and didn't really matter and felt bad for her. I get the vibe she did everything for 2021 all on her own, with no input from SBS etc.

Jess did have elaborate staging planned, but Sacha screwed up and half of it was scrapped due to not working with the stage when she got there - she also lost her voice by not practising control at her promo performances before the big show.

Apart from that we have done what needed to be done, to get us to qualify.

I don't see this guy not qualifing, besides online communities like here and wiwibloggs the general public's response on youtube etc seems positive.

This song whilst not revolutionary is not the trainwreck that everyone is making out to be lol. Also when will people realize that the staging for Australia Decides and Eurovision will never be the same, the Australian audience for the most part sees Eurovision as an over the top contest with silly staging and they vote for that and big vocals. I have no doubt he will do what needs to be done with the staging, just like Kate did.

I still don't like how SBS treated Montaigne, lol. I feel like she was completely thrown under the bus by her own delegation, ew. She might not have done well regardless because girl was always inconsistent when it came to her vocal performances, then excused herself because of "nerves" or "being on her period", etc.

Apparently, SBS had many staging ideas for Jess, but none of them came through, which is their fault. Sacha didn't give Jess a lot to work with either, but maybe SBS and Jess should've planned their performance more instead of running around where their own artist had NO clue what she was going to do in Lisbon, lol. What a mess. This flop was the main reason Australia Decides happened as early as in 2019 though, and it gave us Kate

 

[Ianp16]

My housemate told me he thinks this will win. I just think it's annoying.

 

[goncalovieira]

Jessica Mauboy song is part of my best memories from Lisboa 2018.
That energy in the arena ❤

 

[Yazy]

Far from outstanding but I like this more than I thought I would.

The background music alone offers very little. The instrumental arrangement is rather generic. But I like the chorus melody when he sings. I don't mind his high notes, but I do hope he doesn't overdo it to the point of changing melody.

One thing I would have liked better is if the final chorus where he takes off the mask was entirely being sung in low notes with quiet voice. It would have been a more impactful song conclusion for me personally.

I do appreciate the topic of the song as I find it relatable. I like that the lyrics are on a vague side so that everybody can paint their own personal context in how they relate.

Overall, this is a good .

 

[krivac]

Pretentious shit.

1

 

[Preuss]

Jessica Mauboy song is part of my best memories from Lisboa 2018.
That energy in the arena ❤

I feel like it translated through the screens for her semi performance, but the final performance was significantly weaker imo

 

[kamc]

Given the classy, understated entries from the likes of The Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, etc… Australia just feels so old-fashioned, plastic and overblown in comparison now. I hope the juries bury it.

 

[Preuss]

I'm so excited to see this one on the stage in Torino. I think it will be one of Australia's best stagings

 

[Ana Raquel]

I had a dream this won


My first time having nightmares in decades

 

[jeriswani]

The mask reveal doesn’t exactly work for me. Like the whole performance is very theatrical which I like however when he does the face reveal I just get disconnected because he looks good. There’s nothing physically different about him he looks like a good lucking guy. It would work if he had something different about him it would make the song more meaningful imo.

 

[Datura]

The mask reveal doesn’t exactly work for me. Like the whole performance is very theatrical which I like however when he does the face reveal I just get disconnected because he looks good. There’s nothing physically different about him he looks like a good lucking guy. It would work if he had something different about him it would make the song more meaningful imo.

what do u want him to be the phantom of the opera?

 

[jeriswani]

what do u want him to be the phantom of the opera?

YESS!! because the whole thing is so dramatic I expect some sort of deformity on his face . The tense music during the face reveal and then nothing. No scar, no blindness, no disability. it’s a huge let down.

The whole message is about him being different but the mask makes it feel like it’s his face/ appearance thats different but it’s not.

Maybe they can do something with make up because if you want to do a theatrical performance you might as well go all the way.

 

[ArmpitOfEurope]

My problem is it feels very pretentious. The trembling of his hands when hes it taking off just doesnt go together with the fact he fixes his hair 3 times after. Its just fake.
I really like the song and his voice tho, hope his performance wont be melodramatic.

 

[Datura]

YESS!! because the whole thing is so dramatic I expect some sort of deformity on his face . The tense music during the face reveal and then nothing. No scar, no blindness, no disability. it’s a huge let down.

The whole message is about him being different but the mask makes it feel like it’s his face/ appearance thats different but it’s not.

Maybe they can do something with make up because if you want to do a theatrical performance you might as well go all the way.

I ASSUME i somehow understand what u mean or trying to say but i'm not even gonna start to comment how shallow that sounds

 

[Lance Esgard]

YESS!! because the whole thing is so dramatic I expect some sort of deformity on his face . The tense music during the face reveal and then nothing. No scar, no blindness, no disability. it’s a huge let down.

The whole message is about him being different but the mask makes it feel like it’s his face/ appearance thats different but it’s not.

Maybe they can do something with make up because if you want to do a theatrical performance you might as well go all the way.

I was under the impression the idea was that he grew up thinking he was a lot more different than he actually was, that he basically thought he was 'deformed' when he really was just different to other people and not the same as 'normal' people.

But maybe that is me being overly influenced from hearing an interview he did.

 

[pavarotti]

Main issue with this, and why it will be televote poison, is how overblown and self-indulgent it all is.

 

[DanielLuis]

My problem is it feels very pretentious. The trembling of his hands when hes it taking off just doesnt go together with the fact he fixes his hair 3 times after. Its just fake.
I really like the song and his voice tho, hope his performance wont be melodramatic.

I mean those are pretty obviously anxiety ticks.

 

[jeriswani]

I mean those are pretty obviously anxiety ticks.

But it doesn’t come across as anxiety to me (which obviously is different to everyone). Purely due to how comfortable he looks moving around the using his body to express himself. Usually we are used to performers why have anxiety to just not really move around at all. Sia comes to mind.

My problem is that the story behind this is that he was treated differently due to the way he behaved. The things he was into weren’t like what other kids were into. Not due to his face or physical feature. The face reveal just doesn’t come across well to me.

 

[A-lister]

My review:

So Sam Smith meets Gjon's Tears meets Hovi Star (Israel 2016)? The ballad is alright melodically and production-wise, but pretty uneventful to be honest and when you expect something more from it, it is pretty anticlimax. Very typical X-Factor/The Voice/Idol ballad goes Eurovision with a "message", very much catered to the juries but frankly we're having something like this every year and it's really not exciting. I am also not a big fan of unauthentic songs disguised with a "personal message" and "interesting costume". Australia just started to get interesting the past years, but this is clearly a fall-back to their average safe jury pandering stuff.

 

[12Pointsgoto.....]

At the end of the song he switches from "I am not the same" to "we are not the same". The mask he wears symbolises his social awkwardness maybe, and when he takes of his mask he realizes that it is ok to be different and that everyone is different. This is just my interpretation, don't attack me