AUSTRIA

The Austrian Final was held on February 12th at the ORF TV Studios in Vienna, hosted by Andi Knoll & Alice Tumler. The winner was chosen in two rounds of voting - in the first round a top 2 was chosen by 50/50 televoting and jury while the second round winner was chosen by a 90 second speed vote. Coming out on top was Zoë with “Loin d’ici” (Far from here)

The song is a very dreamy pop song. Although the song is French the production and style of the song is also very French sounding and so the whole package does not sound out of place – apart from the fact that this is the entry for Austria!  The song builds really well and has a very clear structure. The verses are a little non-descript but this does let the chorus really shine. The tune of the chorus is very earwormy and even the words get into your head. The ending is very string and Zoë is a very polished and confident performer and it really shows. The whole set up of the show on the night was also very striking. The use of the treadmill coupled with the moving background was also innovative and eye catching. It also offers up that slight bit of jeopardy as anything could go wrong!

19 year old Zoë is already an experienced performer. Before the age of 10 she had appeared on song with her parents and appeared on kids TV talent contest. More recently she appeared in the ORF television series “Vorstadtweiber” (Suburban Wives” and also came 3^rd in last year’s Austrian Eurovision selection. Obviously the song is very different to what they have chosen in the past and does not appear to be very Austrian, but Zoë enjoys singing in French and the song is composed by herself and her father.

Unlike many of the songs chosen this year, this already feels like a finished package. The backdrop is great and she sings the song really well. If anything, I would suggest somebody gets her a slightly thicker skirt – one that is not see through! Initially I was not very inspired by the song or performance BUT put it into perspective with the songs that have already been chosen it actually comes out quite favourably. With a similarly staged performance in the semi AND a good draw (she is 2nd half of semi two) she could get quite a few votes. It does have a lot to overcome – not one French language song has every qualified from a semi-final and unfortunately for her there is only one French-speaking nation is voting in her semi. With a slightly heavy heart I don’t see this qualifying but part of me is pleased to finally see something a bit different being chosen for Eurovision 2016.

ARTIST – Zoë

SONG – Loin d’ici (Far from here)

MUSIC - Zoë Straub, Christof Straub

LYRICS - Zoë Straub, Christof Straub