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Special feature: Meet the Austrian candidates!

12 February 2013 at 15:30 CET

Meet the Austrian national final participants

On Friday, February 15th, the Austrian national final, Österreich Rockt den Song Contest, will take place, with the following five acts participating:

  • Falco Luneau - Rise Above The Night (written by Falco Luneau, Tony Cornelissen)
  • Natália Kelly - Shine (written by Andreas Grass, Nikola Paryla, Natalia Kelly, Alexander Kahr) 
  • The Bandaloop - Back To Fantasy (written by Barca Baxant, Justin Case)
  • Elija - Give Me A Sign (written by Elija)
  • Yela - Feels Like Home (written by Daniela Bauer, Lukas Hillebrand, Alexander Pohn)

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In the national final, which will be presented by Andi Knoll and Miriam Weichselbraun, a 50/50 mix of televoting and the votes of an international jury will decide the outcome. You will be able to watch the show live on Eurovision.tv's WebTV Player, starting at 21:00 CET.

In the meantime, you can read our interviews with the five candidates, and check out the official video clips to their national final songs. Click "Next" at the bottom of the page to switch to the next artist's interview and video clip!


Natália Kelly

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." Natália will sing Shine on Friday.

Why did you decide to enter Austrian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest?

To be part of the oldest and the biggest Music Competition in the world would be an honor. I love music, I already have 10 years of stage experience, I write my own songs too and I’ve been participating in other competitions. I felt ready for the next level.

How did you choose the song for the Austrian final?

I'm a very open minded person and when we were looking for some songs, apart from my own, we came across Shine and I liked it from the start! The main message is that things can always go wrong but you should never give up hope. If you fall down, just get back up again.

So I met the composers and we reworked the song. This way I had the chance to give my input and bring a little of myself into the song.

What kind of stage performance are you planning?

It’s going to be bright and colorful. The song is uplifting and we will have a lot of SHINE-ing moments :)

Do you have a special message for your fans?

Have fun with the show, enjoy the great music that’s going to be presented and if you have the chance to watch the Austrian finals, vote for me if you are in Austria and if not, wish me luck! I hope to see you all in Malmö :D

The Bandaloop

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!" The Bandaloop will sing Back To Fantasy on Friday.

Why did you decide to enter Austrian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest?

We´ve been asked by the austrian ESC-Team and decided straight ahead to take part in one of the most biggest music shows worldwide!

How did you choose the song for the Austrian final?

We've worked on 4 layouts for 2 weeks and finally returned to the first layout and took BACK TO FANTASY.

What kind of stage performance are you planning?

We still haven´t had the time to start rehearsing for the performance. But our goal is to shake ´em all!

Do you have a special message for your fans?

Don't take it too serious - but take it! Sit back, stand up, shake with us (do as you wish) - and enjoy the show!

Yela

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. Yela will sing Feels Like Home on Friday.

Why did you decide to enter Austrian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest?

ESC is the biggest music contest in the world; it would be a great honor to represent Austria there. I am excited to perform Feels Like Home on February 15th, a song that is dedicated to my Austrian family and friends who always make me feel like home.

How did you choose the song for the Austrian final?

I wanted to write a song that tells a real story and something I feel deeply about. I feel very connected to my Austrian roots, to my family and friends here. In trying out different things in the studio the word "home" kept coming up in my improvisations. Once I found the melody I knew what to write. It was important to me to write from my experience.

What kind of stage performance are you planning?

I hope you have had a chance to see the video to Feels Like Home. My goal is to express the feeling of "Home", that relaxed vibe and feeling of comfort not only in my performance, but also visually on stage.

Do you have a special message for your fans?

I want to thank all of you for being Eurovision fans, you alone make this the greatest event in music worldwide. Thank you for all your love and support. All your feed-back is greatly appreciated! Let's make Eurovision 2013 the best music celebration together!

Elija

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." Elija will sing Give Me a Sign on Friday.

Why did you decide to enter Austrian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest?

I think the way the image of the Eurovision Song Contest went in the past years is a really good one. It's not only an entertaining show – it is a show that contains credible popmusic. This is what I want to do with my music as a singer, composer and producer. It's the world's biggest songwriter competition so I want to be there!

How did you choose the song for the Austrian final?

I released my debut album in May 2012. Therefore I couldn't pick any song from the album, so I decided to write a new one for the Austrian qualifications. After the first meeting with the heads of this show I went into the studio and told myself "you're gonna write this song now". Fortunately it worked out really well. :) Of course I arranged and produced this song for a couple of weeks but the basement of Give Me a Sign was there pretty quickly after this first meeting.

What kind of stage performance are you planning?

There will be a lot of energy in a power-performance. The musicians I'm performing with are great people I really love. WE. GONNA. ROCK!

Do you have a special message for your fans?

Whatever happens - It wouldn't work without you! ;) Thank you for supporting me and my music! U GUYS ROCK!

Falco Luneau

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. Falco Luneau will sing Rise Above The Night on Friday.

Why did you decide to enter Austrian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest?

ORF followed my career ever since I left Austria 4 years ago. I preceded my career in The Netherlands and this moment my music is growing on National radio. That probably must be the reason why the ORF asked me to participate on the selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. It’s a great honor that they asked me.

How did you choose the song for the Austrian final?

With my producer Tony Cornelissen I wrote two completely different songs for the Austrian final, an upbeat song and Rise Above The Night. The ORF was blown away from the second one so the decision was easy.

What kind of stage performance are you planning?

My main focus is to translate and carrying out the lyrics the best and most honest way possible. My band will support me on stages and it will be just awesome!

Do you have a special message for your fans?

Lovely people. If I'll get the chance to participate on the ESC in Malmö, I would be the happiest man on earth! I hope you’ll vote for me but that would just a luxury question. I hope you’ll love my music. See you soon.