Eurovision connections to Masked Singer Australia

Masked Singer Australia is set to return to our screens for the fifth season and the rumours already flying that some of this years contestants might be past 'Eurovision - Australia Decides' artists.

From Eurovision performers, Australia Decides and Australian jury members, Aussievision looks at all the Eurovision connections to Masked Singer Australia.

Season 1: 2019

Paulini

Paulini Curuenavuli of Australian Idol fame competed in the first season of Masked Singer Australia as the Spider back in 2019.

Some of the songs the Spider tackled were AC/DC’s ‘Long Way to the Top’, ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears and David Guetta & Sia’s ‘Titanium’ before being voted out after singing ‘Someone You Loved’ by Lewis Capaldi.

Paulini finished in 5th place overall and only judge Jackie O guess her correctly.

Paulini competed in Australia Decides 2022 with her song ‘We Are One’ which came sixth in the competition but her Eurovision connections go back to 2010. Paulini co-wrote 'Culpable' for Spanish artist Edurne who went on to represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song 'Amanecer'.

Season 2: 2020

Kate Miller-Heidke

Participating in the second season of Masked Singer, Kate Miller-Heidke was behind the Queen mask.

Forever the Queen of theatrics, Kate delivered many dramatic performances including ‘Blinging Lights’ by the Weeknd, Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black’.

Kate came a controversial runner-up to Bonnie Anderson’s Bushranger.

Dannii Minogue successfully guessed the Queen as Eurovision Royalty, Kate Miller-Heidke.

Kate won 'Eurovision - Australia Decides' 2019 with her performance of ‘Zero Gravity' and went on to represent Australia at Eurovision in Tel Aviv. Kate finished in 9th place at the Eurovision Grand Final.

Isaiah Firebrace

Isaiah competed in Masked Singer Australia in the Wizard costume in 2020. In interviews he said how difficult it had been to keep his participation a secret.

He sang ‘Firework’ by Katie Perry which public voting saw him at risk of being unmasked but survived to sing for another two weeks before being revealed. Isaiah finished 7th in the show overall with Jackie O successfully guessing that Isaiah was behind the Wizard.

Isaiah was launched into the spotlight after winning X Factor Australia in 2016. He went on to represent Australia in Eurovision in 2017 with his song ‘Don’t Come Easy’ which placed 9th in the final.

In 2022 Isaiah was joined by Evie Irie at Australia Decides where they performed the duet ‘When I’m With You’, coming 10th.

Lucy Durack

Lucy Durack was part of the 2017 Australian jury, giving Australia’s 12 points to Lucie Jones ‘Never Give Up On You’.

Performing on the Masked Singer season two as the Cactus and bringing some humour to the character with songs like ‘I Touch Myself’ by the Divinyls. Lucy was unmasked after her performance of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ by Bonnie Tyler (another Eurovision connection) which saw her finish 6th.

Christine Anu

Australian singing royalty Christine Anu was unmasked as the Goldfish in the second season of Masked Singer Australia. She was the third person out of the show with none of the judges successfully guessing she was behind the mask.

Christine was on Australia’s 2019 Eurovision Jury who awarded our 12 points to Sweden’s John Lundvik.

Season 3: 2021

Jack Vidgen

Jack Vidgen was unveiled as the ‘Kebab’ in season three of Masked Singer Australia. Kebab sang covers including ‘Believe’ by Cher, ‘Juice’ by Lizzo and a particularly moving version of ‘Stay with Me’ by Sam Smith that had beautiful choreography with a giant hot chip.

From Jack’s first performance of ‘Hot Stuff’ by Donna Summer, fans and Jackie O guessed that it was him behind the mask. Jack finishd 4th place in the Masked Singer.

Jack competed in Australia Decides in 2020 with his very personal song, 'I am King I Am Queen'. He finished in 8th place in the competition.

Jack was on the Australian Eurovision Jury in 2021, awarding 12 points to Malta’s Destiny.

Ella Hooper

None of the panellists guessed that Killing Heidi’s front woman was behind the ‘Baby’ in season three of Masked Singer Australia.

2019 Australia Decides entrant Ella Hooper competed in the competition singing an eclectic range of songs from ‘Bad to the Bone’ by George Thorogood and the Destroyers to ‘My Favourite Things’ from the Sound of Music before being unmasked after her rendition of ‘As Long As You Love Me’ by The Backstreet Boys. She finished 5th place overall.

Ella’s Australia Decides song ‘Data Dust’ was the first in the running order but sadly was the lowest scoring song of the night.

Macy Gray

Although not technically Eurovision, Macy Gray who competed as Atlantis in last year’s Masked Singer Australia was a competitor in this year’s newly launched American Song Contest. Macy Gray represented Ohio with her song ‘Every Night’. Although she had nationwide recognition, she failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

Season 4: 2022

Sheldon Riley

Australia's Eurovision 2022 artist, Sheldon Riley, was masked as the 'Snapdragon' in the 2022 series.

Snapdragon had memorable performances of hits such as 'Sorry Not Sorry' by Demi Lovato, 'How Will I Know' by Whitney Houston, 'Therefore I Am' by Billie Eilish, 'Strong' by London Grammar, and 'Stay' by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko.

One of the biggest performances by Snapdragon was 'Never Enough' by Loren Allred sung in the Finale. Sheldon went on to finish in second place in Masked Singer Australia 2022, behind Melody Thornton from the Pussycat Dolls. Due to the songs popularity he ended up releasing 'Never Enough' as a single release.

Sheldon won 'Eurovision - Australia Decides' 2022 with his emotional ballad 'Not The Same'. He represented Australia at Eurovision in Turin where he finishing in 15th place in the Eurovision Grand Final.

Shannon Noll

Former Australian Idol runner up Shannon Noll was 'Blowfly' in the fourth season. He was eliminated after the eighth week. Shannon was an Australian Jury member back in 2016. He awarded his 12 points to Belgium's Laura Tesoro with 'What's The Pressure'. The Australian Jury and televote ended up awarding Laura 12 points at the Eurovision Grand Final.

There have been many connections between The Masked Singer Australia and Eurovision. Will there be more this season? We will have to wait and see.

The Masked Singer Australia starts on September 11, 2023 on the Ten Network.

Article written by Alana Matthews and Kyriakos Tsinivits

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