Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country Austria
National selection
Selection processWer singt für Österreich?
Selection date(s)Shows:
20 February 2015
27 February 2015
6 March 2015
Final:
13 March 2015
Selected entrantThe Makemakes
Selected song"I Am Yours"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Jimmy Harry
  • Dominic Muhrer
  • Paul Estrela
  • Florian Meindl
  • Markus Christ
Finals performance
Final result26th, 0 points
Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 2015 2016►

Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "I Am Yours" written by Jimmy Harry, Dominic Muhrer, Paul Estrela, Florian Meindl and Markus Christ. The song was performed by the band The Makemakes. In addition to participating in the contest, the Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" performed by Conchita Wurst. ORF organised the national final Wer singt für Österreich? in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna. Sixteen artists competed over three televised shows resulting in the selection of six finalists with a potential Eurovision song each. In the final, ten international juries and a public vote first selected the top two entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round, "I Am Yours" performed by The Makemakes was selected as the winner after gaining 78% of the votes from a public vote.

As the host country, Austria qualified to compete directly in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Austria's running order position was determined by draw. Performing in position 14 during the final, Austria placed twenty-sixth out of the 27 participating countries and failed to score any points. This was the fourth time the nation received

nul points
in the history of the competition.

Background

Prior to the 2015 contest, Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-seven times since its first entry in

nul points on three occasions; in 1962, 1988 and 1991.[5]

The Austrian national broadcaster, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), broadcasts the event within Austria and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. From 2011 to 2013, ORF set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Austria, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. For the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, ORF held an internal selection to choose the artist and song to represent Austria at the contest. On 26 September 2014, the broadcaster announced that the Austrian entry for the 2015 contest would be selected through a national final.[6]

Before Eurovision

Wer singt für Österreich?

Wer singt für Österreich? (Who sings for Austria?) was the national final that selected Austria's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The competition consisted of a four-week-long process that commenced on 20 February 2015 and concluded with a winning song and artist during the final on 13 March 2015.

ORF eins as well as streamed online via ORF's official website.[8]

Format

Three pre-recorded shows were aired on 20 February, 27 February and 6 March 2015. Sixteen artists competed in the first show where an expert jury panel selected the top six to advance in the competition. The second show was a non-competitive showcase show where the six remaining artists showcased their vocal skills and talent. The six artists each performed two candidate Eurovision songs in the third show where an expert jury panel selected one song per artist for the final on 13 March 2015. The six artists performed their selected songs in the final where the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, public voting and ten international juries consisting of five members each selected the top two entries to advance to the second round. Viewers were able to vote via telephone or SMS and both the jury and public distributed points based on overall ranking as follows: 5 (lowest), 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 (highest). After the combination of the jury and public votes, the top two entries proceeded to the second round where the winner was selected exclusively by public voting.[9]

During the shows, four coaches provided commentary and feedback to the artists. The coaches were:[10]

Competing entries

Sixteen artists were nominated by a team of music experts led by Anna F. and

Madonna), Lukas Hillebrand and Wolfgang Schlögel (I-Wolf das Projekt).[11]

Shows

The first three shows aired on 20 February, 27 February and 6 March 2015. Each of the sixteen artists performed an original song or a cover version of a hit international song in the first show where the top six were selected by the votes from a jury panel.[13] The members of the expert panel were Dietmar Lienbacher (Head of Sony Music Austria), Diana Lueger (singer, member of the band Zweitfrau), Andi Knoll (Austrian commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest), and music experts Eberhard Forcher and Dunja Stachl.[14] Each of the six finalists performed two original songs or cover versions of hit international songs in the second show and an advisory audience vote selected Celina Ann, Folkshilfe and The Makemakes as the top three.[15] The six finalists performed their two candidate Eurovision songs in the third show and the coaches selected one song per artist to proceed to the final.[16]

Show 1 – 20 February 2015
Draw Artist Song (Original artists) Result
1 The Makemakes "Million Euro Smile" Advanced
2 Clara Blume "Love & Starve" Eliminated
3 Royal Kombo "Ram Pam Pam" Eliminated
4 Dawa "On the Run" Advanced
5 Zoë "Adieu" Advanced
6 Renato Unterberg "Love" Eliminated
7 The Su'sis "This and That" Eliminated
8 Lemo "So leicht" Eliminated
9 Mizgebonez "Murmeltier" / "Fitnesstraining" Eliminated
10 Kathi Kallauch "Das Leben ist zu kurz" Eliminated
11 Folkshilfe "Seit a poa Tog" Advanced
12 Kommando Elefant "Mein Design fürs Leben" Eliminated
13 Tandem "Zeig ihn mir" Eliminated
14 Celina Ann "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" (Aretha Franklin) Advanced
15 wo/Men "Happy" (Pharrell Williams) Eliminated
16 Johann Sebastian Bass "Heart of Stone" Advanced
Show 2 – 27 February 2015
Draw Artist Song (original artists)
1 The Makemakes "I Shot the Sheriff" (Bob Marley)
2 Celina Ann "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" (Alicia Keys)
3 Dawa "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (The Verve)
4 Folkshilfe "Schranz 5 (mashup)" (various artists)[a]
5 Zoë "Something" (The Beatles)
6 Johann Sebastian Bass "Stronger" (Kanye West)
7 Celina Ann "Roxanne" (The Police)
8 Folkshilfe "Loss da helfn"
9 Dawa "Saloon"
10 Johann Sebastian Bass "Marmalade Skies"
11 Zoë "On My Own" (Samantha Barks)
12 The Makemakes "Blauschkopf"
Show 3 – 6 March 2015
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Result
1 The Makemakes "Big Bang" Jimmy Harry, Breana Kennedy, Danielle Brisebois, Tony Kanal Eliminated
2 Celina Ann "When I Fall" Ian Dench, Sharon Vaughn, Celina Ann Seilinger Eliminated
3 Dawa "If You Return" John Dawa, Laura Pudelek, Oama Richson, Barbara Wiesinger Eliminated
4 Folkshilfe "Ned au" Florian Ritt, Mathias Kaineder, Gabriel Haider Eliminated
5 Johann Sebastian Bass "Monsters" Johann Domenicus Bass, Johann Martinus Bass, Johann Davidus Bass, Wolfgang Schlögl Eliminated
6 Zoë "My Heart Still Beats" Zoë Straub, Christof Straub Eliminated
7 Dawa "Feel Alive" John Dawa, Barbara Wiesinger, Laura Pudelek, Oama Richson, Jimmy Harry, Patrick Pulsinger Advanced
8 Johann Sebastian Bass "Absolutio" Johann Domenicus Bass, Johann Martinus Bass, Johann Davidus Bass, Wolfgang Schlögl Advanced
9 Celina Ann "Utopia" Ian Dench, Sharon Vaughn, Celina Ann Seilinger Advanced
10 The Makemakes "I Am Yours" Jimmy Harry, Dominic Muhrer, Paul Estrela, Florian Meindl, Markus Christ Advanced
11 Zoë "Quel filou" Zoë Straub, Christof Straub Advanced
12 Folkshilfe "Who You Are" Julie Frost, Vlado Dzihan, Florian Ritt, Mathias Kaineder, Gabriel Haider Advanced

Final

The televised final took place on 13 March 2015. Six songs competed in the first round where the top two were selected by the combination of votes from ten international juries and a public vote to proceed to the second round. The top two were "Feel Alive" performed by Dawa and "I Am Yours" performed by The Makemakes. In the second round, public televoting selected "I Am Yours" performed by The Makemakes as the winner.[17] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner Conchita Wurst performed her new single "Unstoppable".[18]

First Round – 13 March 2015
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
Votes Points Percentage Points
1 Folkshilfe "Who You Are" 67 7 11.31% 7 14 4
2 Zoë "Quel filou" 103 10 11.32% 8 18 3
3 Dawa "Feel Alive" 79 8 14.35% 10 18 2
4 Celina Ann "Utopia" 60 5 2.94% 5 10 6
5 Johann Sebastian Bass "Absolutio" 64 6 8.92% 6 12 5
6 The Makemakes "I Am Yours" 107 12 51.15% 12 24 1
Detailed International Jury Votes
Draw Song Total
1 "Who You Are" 6 5 6 5 6 6 12 8 6 7 67
2 "Quel filou" 12 10 7 12 10 12 8 10 12 10 103
3 "Feel Alive" 10 8 10 8 7 8 6 7 7 8 79
4 "Utopia" 5 7 5 6 8 7 7 5 5 5 60
5 "Absolutio" 8 6 8 7 5 5 5 6 8 6 64
6 "I Am Yours" 7 12 12 10 12 10 10 12 10 12 107
Second Round – 13 March 2015
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Dawa "Feel Alive" 22% 2
2 The Makemakes "I Am Yours" 78% 1

Ratings

Viewing figures by show
Show Date Viewing figures Ref.
Nominal Share
Show 1 20 February 2015 391,000 15% [19]
Show 2 27 February 2015 337,000 13% [20]
Show 3 6 March 2015 375,000 14% [21]
Final (Part 1) 13 March 2015 445,000 17% [22]
Final (Part 2) 596,000 26%

Promotion

The Makemakes made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "I Am Yours" as the Austrian Eurovision entry. On 18 April, The Makemakes performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the

Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.[24] The Makemakes also completed promotional activities in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Slovenia as part of the campaign Vienna 12 Points.[12] In addition to their international appearances, The Makemakes performed during the ORF 2 programme Die Brieflos Show on 22 March.[25]

At Eurovision

The Makemakes at the Eurovision Song Contest opening ceremony

All countries except the "

Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the host country, are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[26] As the host country, Austria automatically qualified to compete in the final on 14 May 2016. In addition to their participation in the final, Austria is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 26 January 2015, Austria was assigned to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 19 May 2015.[27]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Austria on

ORF eins with commentary by Andi Knoll.[28] The Austrian spokesperson, who announced the Austrian votes during the final, was Kati Bellowitsch.[29]

Final

The Makemakes during a rehearsal before the final

The Makemakes took part in technical rehearsals on 17 and 20 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May. This included the jury final on 22 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[30][31][32] As the host nation, Austria's running order position in the final was decided through a random draw that took place during the Heads of Delegation meeting in Vienna on 16 March 2015. Austria was drawn to perform in position 14.[33] Following the second semi-final, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. While Austria had already been drawn to perform in position 14, it was determined that Austria would perform following Belgium and before the entry from Greece.[34]

The Austrian performance featured the members of The Makemakes, dressed in a black and white outfits, performing in a band set-up on a predominantly dark stage accompanied by bronze stage lighting. During the performance, lead vocalist of the band Dominic Muhrer was seated at a piano which set on fire at the final chorus of the song. The Makemakes was joined by three off-stage backing vocalists: Chris Coras, Harald Baumgartner and Regina Mallinger.

nul points.[5] In response to receiving zero points, the group later recorded a parody video singing the winning song "Heroes", changing the lyrics to "We are the zeroes of our time".[39]

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.[40]

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Austria had placed twenty-seventh (last) with the public televote and thirteenth with the jury vote. In the public vote, Austria scored 0 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 40 points.[41]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Austria and awarded by Austria in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to Austria

Austria did not receive any points at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.[42]

Points awarded by Austria

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Austrian jury:[40]

Detailed voting results from Austria (Semi-final 1)[44]
Draw Country G. Lux M. Ortega C. Deix Como F. Trost Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Moldova 10 15 9 12 9 12 12 14
02  Armenia 13 10 12 16 14 15 6 12
03  Belgium 5 6 5 1 3 4 8 5 6
04  Netherlands 2 7 3 2 7 5 15 11
05  Finland 16 16 16 13 16 16 9 15
06  Greece 3 5 4 4 4 3 11 7 4
07  Estonia 4 3 1 6 1 1 7 2 10
08  Macedonia 11 4 14 14 13 13 13 16
09  Serbia 12 12 6 15 8 10 1 4 7
10  Hungary 14 11 15 8 6 11 3 6 5
11  Belarus 9 2 8 10 10 7 16 13
12  Russia 1 1 7 5 2 2 5 1 12
13  Denmark 6 14 2 3 5 6 14 10 1
14  Albania 15 8 10 11 15 14 4 8 3
15  Romania 8 9 13 7 12 8 2 3 8
16  Georgia 7 13 11 9 11 9 10 9 2
Detailed voting results from Austria (Final)[45]
Draw Country G. Lux M. Ortega C. Deix Como F. Trost Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Slovenia 11 11 11 20 7 11 14 11
02  France 12 20 23 19 16 19 25 25
03  Israel 13 6 18 24 12 13 9 9 2
04  Estonia 6 4 6 9 3 4 10 5 6
05  United Kingdom 17 22 21 25 20 24 23 26
06  Armenia 25 23 25 23 25 25 17 23
07  Lithuania 22 8 10 12 15 12 24 20
08  Serbia 24 10 20 21 17 20 2 8 3
09  Norway 5 7 5 7 4 5 12 7 4
10  Sweden 3 2 1 4 2 2 6 4 7
11  Cyprus 9 14 4 11 9 9 16 12
12  Australia 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 1 12
13  Belgium 8 21 8 1 6 8 8 6 5
14  Austria
15  Greece 4 12 12 13 14 10 26 21
16  Montenegro 18 15 17 22 24 22 22 24
17  Germany 15 25 14 10 21 16 18 17
18  Poland 21 24 16 14 19 21 13 16
19  Latvia 7 9 9 6 10 7 15 10 1
20  Romania 19 17 24 18 22 23 7 14
21  Spain 14 13 15 15 18 14 21 18
22  Hungary 23 19 19 5 11 15 11 13
23  Georgia 16 18 13 16 23 17 19 19
24  Azerbaijan 20 16 22 17 13 18 20 22
25  Russia 2 3 7 3 5 3 4 3 8
26  Albania 26 26 26 26 26 26 5 15
27  Italy 10 5 3 8 8 6 1 2 10

Notes and references

Notes

References

  1. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1957". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1966". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Austria wins Eurovision Song Contest". bbc.co.uk/news. BBC. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Semi-Final (1)". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  5. ^ a b "History by Country – Austria". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  6. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (26 September 2014). "Austria: ORF plans national selection in February". Esctoday. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  7. ^ Brey, Marco (26 November 2014). "Austrian national final on March 13". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  8. ^ Weaver, Jessica (13 March 2015). "Watch now: Wer singt für Österreich? final in Austria". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  9. ^ a b Brey, Marco (30 September 2014). "Four shows to select Austrian entry". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  10. ^ Maier, Anna (6 March 2015). "Eurovision Song Contest 2015: Wer singt für Österreich?". meinbezirk.at (in German). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  11. ^ a b Brey, Marco (2 December 2014). "Austria: 16 candidates for national selection presented". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Eurovision 2015 - The Makemakes (Austria)". ESCKAZ. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  13. ^ Brey, Marco (20 February 2015). "Austria: Six finalists chosen". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Wer singt für Österreich? Die Jury". ORF (in German). 20 February 2015.
  15. ^ Brey, Marco (27 February 2015). "Austria: Wer singt für Österreich - Show 2". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  16. ^ Brey, Marco (6 March 2015). "Austria: National final songs chosen". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  17. ^ Brey, Marco (13 March 2015). "WATCH NOW: The Austrian final!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  18. ^ Brey, Marco (13 March 2015). "The Makemakes to represent Austria!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  19. ^ "Bis zu 489.000 sahen erste Vorauswahlshow "Eurovision Song Contest - Wer singt für Österreich?"". ots.at. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  20. ^ ""EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2015" Bis zu 450.000 sahen zweite ORF-Vorauswahlshow "Eurovision Song Contest – Wer singt für Österreich?"!". Smago! (in German). 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Bis zu 500.000 sahen dritte Vorauswahlshow "Eurovision Song Contest - Wer singt für Österreich?"". ots.at (in German). 7 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  22. ^ "596.000 bei der ESC-Vorauswahl "Wer singt für Österreich?"". ots.at (in German). 14 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  23. ^ Petersen, Christian (9 April 2015). "Eurovision in Concert 2015". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  24. ^ Adams, William Lee (27 April 2015). "London Eurovision Party 2015: Notes on the Live Performances". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest: The Makemakes in Slowenien – Treffen mit Maraaya". ots.at. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  26. ^ Siim, Jarmo (10 February 2015). "Australia to compete in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  27. ^ Escudero, Victor M. (26 January 2015). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  28. ^ "So wird der Song Contest im TV" (in German). tv.heute.at. 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  29. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (23 May 2015). ""Good evening Vienna" - Voting order revealed". eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  30. ^ a b Omelyanchuk, Olena (17 May 2015). "Austria's Dodo "is a hat guy"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  31. ^ a b Omelyanchuk, Olena (20 May 2015). "Flames and fires for the Austrian entry". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  32. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (22 May 2015). "Decision night for the 40 juries around Europe...and beyond". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  33. ^ Brey, Marco (16 March 2015). "Follow live: Heads of Delegations meet in Vienna". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  34. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (22 May 2015). "Running order for Grand Final revealed!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  35. ^ "The Makemakes: I am yours". eurovisionartists.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  36. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon; Roxburgh, Gordon (24 May 2015). "Sweden wins 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  37. ^ "Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  38. ^ "Rules for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  39. ^ The Makemakes [@TheMakemakes] (24 May 2015). "We are the ZEROES of our time" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 May 2020 – via Twitter.
  40. ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (1 May 2015). "Exclusive: Here are this year's national juries!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  41. ^ Quinn, Angus (24 May 2015). "Eurovision 2015 Split Results: Who Did the Jury Hurt?". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  42. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  43. ^ "Results of the First Semi-Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  44. ^ "Full Split Results | First Semi-Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  45. ^ "Full Split Results | Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2021.