Austria: Five finalists for 15 February

Since October, a team of professionals headed by Thomas Rabitsch (composer of the Austrian Eurovision entry in 2011) have been searching for the best talents for Malmö. Main criteria for selection were artistic originality, an outstanding voice of international format, and the sincere wish to represent their home country in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Now the five best musicians fulfilling all these criteria have been revealed on in the morning show Ö3 Wecker on the most-listened Austrian radio channel Hitradio Ö3. With the names and artist profiles presented, ORF has made the clear statement that they are looking for a quality act.

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The following artists will fight for the ticket to Malmö in a public national final, to be broadcast live on Friday, 15 February:

• Yela (real name Daniela Bauer) is a New York-based soul musician, born in Vienna. "Already as a child, I've often fantasized about being one of the musicians on the Eurovision Song Contest stage. It would be a great honour for me to represent Austria", she confesses. 
• Falco Luneau made his first steps in showbiz as a candidate of the Austrian talent show Starmania, but it's The Netherlands where he has celebrated his greatest successes to date. "My music has been received with open arms in The Netherlands. The Eurovision Song Contest is an exceptional platform to present my own music to a yet bigger audience," he says.
• The Bandaloop is an electro-pop band who is proud of their avantgardistic style and strong stage presence. On their Eurovision ambitions, they state: "Glamour, glitter, culture clash - it's the most dazzling and, at the same time, most curious TV show of the year. That's the thing for us!"
• Natália Kelly is the youngest candidate of the line-up. The 18 year-old knows how to convince with her natural style and her confident way of performing: "Even though I'm only 18, I already have ten years of stage experience. I'm determined, ambitious, and keen to learn. I'll give my best to be a worthy and successful Austrian representative."
• Elija is a 21 year-old rock musician. He won the 2009 Austrian Newcomer Award and he has even founded his own record label! On his plans around Eurovision, he explains: "The contest has developed in a direction where musical quality is more and more in the focus, and that's the fact that ultimately caught my interest, too. I think my strength is that I compose and produce my songs myself - my song is 100% Elija."

Now the five acts have time till the beginning of January to come up with a perfect song for the national final. On 15 February, we shall find out who will be the lucky one to represent Austria in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.