Aussie rockers Voyager through to Eurovision final
Perth rockers Voyager have won a “bonza” place in the Eurovision final after performing in all their glam glory at the second semifinal early on Friday (AEST).
The Australians were the last act to perform in Liverpool, and will join the top 10 along with Lithuania, Poland, Armenia, Slovenia. Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Belgium and Austria in the grand final early on Sunday.
They performed their synth-metal song Promise, with its screamo interlude.
Lead singer Danny Estrin arrived on stage in a car, while the band embraced Eurovision with outfits adorned with glitter and sequins.
After the finalists were announced, the band expressed their joy in an Instagram post.
“Eurovision grand final, here we come!!!!” they wrote.
“We promise you it’s gonna be all right!!!!
“Thank you to our incredible team and everyone who voted for us. Holy moly.”
Their fans were equally overjoyed, with singer Dannii Minogue among the first to offer congratulations.
“I was there and saw your performance. The crowd were giving you so much love,” she wrote on the band’s post.
Another was more effusive.
“Bloody deadset bloody legends! We’re rootin for yaz,” they wrote.
While a third said “it’s gonna be more than all right! It’ll be bloody bonza!”
Earlier, the band had said that becoming “a part of the Eurovision family” by playing in the semifinal had already exceeded their expectations, so they felt no pressure to take out the trophy or even reach the finals.
“You are fiercely competitive in some ways but in other ways, you’re just all there to have a good time and perform to the best of your abilities and it’s all about the music for the end of the day,” lead singer and keytarist Danny Estrin said.
“Does it mean we don’t have what it takes to win it? I think we do.”
But if worst comes to worst, the group is philosophical.
“We’re a progressive metal band from Perth, Western Australia, playing Eurovision in Liverpool. I mean, how could we ever consider ourselves losers in this,” bassist Alex Canion said.
Unlike many competitions in life, a music contest can come down to tastes and on-the-day performance, the band said.
“We’re not running a hundred-metre race. Well we are, but we’ve all got different costumes on,” said Estrin, adding Voyager’s finals costumes would be “extra”.
“It’s so subjective. There’s no ‘who can perform the song fastest’,” bassist Alex Canion agreed.
And with a potential final audience of some 180 million viewers, the exposure is second to none, drummer Ashley Doodkorte said.
“On the day, on the night, we all get that same three minutes in front of that same audience. Everyone wins,” Doodkorte said.
Eurovision should go some way to developing a global following for the band that has existed in one form or another for some two decades.
“This has all been an elaborate and highly effective album release strategy for our eighth album which comes out after we finish Eurovision,” part-time lawyer Estrin joked.
“Already, up to this point now, we’ve already won.”
The 2023 Eurovision is being held in Liverpool and hosted by the UK on behalf of Ukraine, whose Kalush Orchestra claimed victory last year.
-AAP