Good evening ESC Hearbeats community! Here is your new artist update- part 8, which is our second to last! Last weekend was a big one for the Eurofans, with the grand final of Melodifestivalen in Stockholm and the final of Festival da Canção in Lisbon. Read below for the results!
Electric Fields for Australia
Australia has decided! Electric Fields will travel all the way from Down Under to represent Australia in Malmo with their song ‘One Milkali ‘(=One Blood). The song was internally selected by Australian Broadcaster SBS and was released on 5th of March.
Electric Fields are an Australian synth pop duo consisting of the vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross. They were formed in 2015 and released their first EP ‘Inma’ in 2016, which took their career off. They first attempted to go to Eurovision in 2019 by participating in Australia Decides, finishing 2nd with their song ‘2000 and whatever’. Their sound is characterised as electronic with a mix of multicultural sounds. Their song ‘One Milkali’ praises the Aboriginal Australian culture, which are the roots of the vocalist Zaachariaha and gives the message of togetherness. It is in English but has some lyrics in Yankunytjatjara, an aboriginal Australian language. Australia will be competing in the second half of semi-final 1. Good luck Electric Fields!
Iolanda for Portugal
Last Saturday was the final and the 60th anniversary of Festival da Canção, the Portuguese national selection show. There were 3 shows in total, 2 semi-finals and 1 final with 12 finalists. Public has been voting through the entire week, and on the day of the final both public and jury votes were combined with a 50:50 count. Iolanda finished first with her song ‘Grito’ (=scream), achieving 12 points from the jury and 10 points from public.
Iolanda is a Portuguese singer and songwriter born in 1994. She studied music and released her first EP ‘Cura’ in 2023. Her music is a combination of pop and RnB with elements of traditional Portuguese music. Her song ‘Grito’ is about her struggles with mental health and how she managed to keep going through the dark times. As she sings, ‘I am a flame that still burns’. Iolanda will perform on the second half of semi-final 1. Good luck Iolanda!
Marcus & Martinus for Sweden
The hosts have decided. Marcus & Martinus have won the final of Melodifestivalen 2024 and will compete in home ground with their song ‘Unforgettable’. The final of Melodifestivalen was aired live from Friends Arena in Stockholm on Saturday 9th of March, after 6 weeks of shows. The winner was decided by 50% public vote and 50% jury vote, which consisted of 8 international juries.
Marus and Martinus are 22-year-old Norwegian twin brothers. They gained fame after winning Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix junior in 2012 at only 10 years old. Since then, they have released multiple singles and have been on sold out tours around Europe. Their biggest hit ‘Elektrisk’ was released in 2015 and reached over 416 million views on YouTube. In 2022 they won the Swedish Masked Singer show and they relocated to Stockholm to begin working with Swedish producers. They took part in last year’s Melodifestivalen with their song ‘Air’, finishing behind Loreen’s ‘Tattoo’. They will perform on the first semi-final but as the hosts they will qualify straight to final, when they will open the show. Good luck Sweden!
