Austria is turning up the techno: Kaleen will rave

It’s exactly 10 years since Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 for Austria, and Kaleen wants to make it happen again. After she was chosen by the Austrian broadcaster ORF to represent the country, she revealed her song We Will Rave, and Europe did indeed rave.

Kaleen’s first self-produced single came out in 2021, and since then she’s put out a further 3 tracks. In 2023, she released her debut album, Stripping Feelings. She’s got a long history as a dancer, and it shows in her We Will Rave music video. Ballet, commercial, tap, jazz, latin, ballroom — you name it, Kaleen will dance it. Whatever else she brings to the Eurovision stage, we can expect strong moves.

Kaleen might not have represented her country at Eurovision before, but she has been on the Eurovision stage. In past years, she’s supported other artists in working on their stage performances, including Austria, Armenia, Germany, and Georgia in 2023. 

In one of her roles, Kaleen has acted as a stand-in for artists at rehearsals in the arena, and some of her favourite moments were working on Eleni Foureria from Cyprus’ Fuego and Saara Aalto from Finland’s Monsters, both in 2018. At least for the 2024 Contest, Kaleen will only have to learn one routine. And we bet it’s going to be a good one.

If Kaleen could sit down to dinner with any 3 people, she’d choose Beyoncé, Céline Dion, and Jennifer Lopez, because they’re 3 powerful women she’d hope to learn a lot from. 

Whatever else is on the menu, Kaleen really loves Austrian tap water, so lets hope her trio of superstar guests do too. When she gets to Malmö, she’ll no doubt be comparing the water quality. Rave on!

As well as extending a dinner invitation to Céline Dion, Kaleen also gives the Swiss Eurovision 1988 winner pride of place as her top Eurovision inspiration. Her winning song Ne partez pas sans moi is one of Kaleen’s favourite hits.

Elsewhere on Kaleen’s playlist of top tunes, there are plenty of pop classics and dance tracks. She loves Jennifer Lopez’s Let’s Get Loud, Dua Lipa’s Physical, and Agnes’ Release Me. When she’s not singing her own hits, Kaleen’s go-to karaoke track is Cher’s Strong Enough. Just like We Will Rave, Kaleen clearly loves a song all about the power of moving on, with a beat that demands some serious dancing.

The Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast caught up with Kaleen. She said: “[I’m] just feeling so much positivity and I’m so proud of this thing for me because it’s such a huge dream of mine coming true, and feeling that so many people can feel something while listening to the song or also watching the music video, I couldn’t have imagined it in a better way.”

Plenty more people will get a chance to rave with Kaleen when she hits the Eurovision stage. Dance moves at the ready, Europe!

You can hear more from Kaleen on Episode 10 of the Official Eurovision Song Contest Podcast.

You can learn more about Kaleen from Austria right here.