Austria: A soulful voice and a skimpy dress

Nadine seemed very relaxed when arriving backstage, despite stating that she had little experience with big performances. "We arrived at the hotel yesterday, and it's so beautiful! Today, it's too early to be nervous, I think. I'm still a little bit tired, but it's okay. I'm really excited to go on stage, but when the rehearsals are all good, I don't think I will be nervous."

She has a trick to control the nerves. "I listen to calm music, that's the best way to me. I might even do it before performing in the broadcast on the 12th," she says. Nadine has a black glittery microphone, matching her dress. It's actually a slip-in case for the microphone provided to her on location in the arena. "When I'm on stage, I'm standing on a big crystal, so it's all crystallised," she explains.

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When Nadine Beiler entered the stage for her first soundcheck, she demonstrated the full power of her RnB voice - she could actually be heard even from the outside of the arena! Together with her five backing vocalists, she delivered a vocally perfect performance. 

Nadine already performed in the skimpy black dress with attached Swarovski crystals in today's rehearsal, but as it was very cold in the Arena, she covered herself with an oversized black jacket during most of the time she was on stage. Dark colours dominated the stage scenery: The LED screens were displaying diamonds on a black background, and the light elements on the stage were set in dark blue. 

During the last run of the rehearsal, the full stage performance was shown for the first time. In the beginning, Nadine is on stage alone, standing on a podium, with spotlights on her. Only during the first chorus, her backing vocalists join her on stage, which is then fully lighted in blue.

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In the press conference, the host first welcomed Austria back in the Eurovision Song Contest after three years of absence, and Nadine Beiler stated that she was very happy to represent her home country. She said that her song The Secret Is Love was especially written for the Eurovision Song Contest by herself and Thomas Rabitsch, as she was already a confirmed participant of the Austrian national selection and she quickly needed a suitable song.

When Nadine was asked if she trusted in her voice to cope with the complicated acapella start of her Eurovision Song Contest entry, she replied: "I really do have trust in my voice. Even when I have a cold - when I'm on stage, my voice is working."

Asked about her upcoming album, Nadine said that it would include several styles including hiphop and house, but she felt most at home with RnB and soul. "It's my baby", she added, as she was also involved in the songwriting and production process.

Nadine and her backing vocalists finished the press conference by singing a part of their Eurovision Song Contest entry together accappella, as well as an excerpt of Hallelujah, the winning song of the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest.

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Nadine Beiler was born in Innsbruck on the 27th of May, 1990. The 20-year old Tyrolean grew up with music and singing .Nadine’s first performance on a big stage came in 2006 at the Starmania talent show, where the little girl with a great voice won against 2,500 candidates, and later went on to prevail over all other contestants during the finals in January 2007.

Following her victory at Starmania Nadine’s music career progressed at a rather slow pace. No wonder, she was only sixteen at the time! She had to go back to school first, where she successfully graduated from two years later. After her graduation, she began studying law at the University of Innsbruck. For her Eurovision Song Contest tune, The Secret Is Love, she wrote the lyrics herself.