Eurovision Song Contest + Melbourne |
What possible trivia connection could there be between the Eurovision Song Contest and Melbourne you ask?
Believe it or not (ripley) there have been two (yes 2) singers from Melbourne who have performed at the Eurovision Song Contest, and even better, one Melbourne born singer actually won it three times albeit for another country.
Olivia Newton-John
In 1974, the year Olivia Newton-John (wasn't born in Melbourne, but grew up here, so we are claiming her) represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision in Brighton with Long Live Love. But not even her star power could compete with Abba mania, and the jump-suited Swedish quartet won with Waterloo, the most popular Eurovision song of all time.
Johnny Logan
By far the most successful Melburnian though, and the most successful performer from any country, was Frankston-born Sean Michael Patrick Sherrard, aka Johnny Logan, who won the event three times for Ireland.
In The Hague in 1980, a 26-year-old Logan was a runaway winner with saxophone-backed ballad What's Another Year. Logan won again in 1987 with a self-penned ballad, Hold Me Now, and also wrote the winning song for Linda Martin in 1992, Why Me.
Australians
As far as Aussies go, if you include Jessica Mauboy (2014), there have been 4 singers from Australia who have performed at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Brisbane's Gina G (Gina Gardiner) sang at Eurovision 1996 with Ooh Aah ... Just A Little Bit. She came third after the prequalifying round but faded to finish eighth after a nervous performance in a teeny mirror dress. Coincidently, Wikipedia credits Gina G as a DJ in Melbourne.
St Jessica's Day
May 9
An exhausted and emotional Jessica Mauboy said she was blown away by performing at the Eurovision Song Contest (2014) especially seeing fans from so many different nations.
"Seeing all the international flags waving in the audience ... gave me goosebumps ,'' she said. What an incredible night. I am absolutely blown away by the magnitude of it all, from the staging to the lights, to all the colour, glitz and glam. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I'll never, ever forget."
For Australia's Eurovision tragics, May 9 will henceforth be known as St Jessica's Day in remembrance of a rare Northern Territory flower who bloomed amid a sea of glitter, fake tan and tooth whitener.
For Eurovision sceptics, that was when Australian pop princess Mauboy nailed her chance to sing a song she had written just for the world's most-watched music competition, which has a global television audience of 180 million.
❊ Web Links ❊
➼ Eurovision Song Contest + Melbourne
➼ www.eurovision.tv
➼ www.sbs.com.au/eurovision
➼ www.wikipedia.org/Eurovision_Song_Contest
➼ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Logan
➼ www.johnnylogan.com
➼ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Newton-John
➼ www.olivianewton-john.com
➼ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gina_G
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