Australia will soon be welcomed again as a European country for three whole days!

That’s right Aussies, the Eurovision Song Contest is back again for 2019 and this year it’s being hosted in Tel Aviv, Israel. The win for Israel last year was well deserved with Netta Barzilai’s performance of TOY, which we selected last year for our Eurovision 2018 Guide. As per usual, each year means new tunes and new artists. So who is turning our heads? Well, after much deliberation, we’ve curated a list of 10 distinctive singers and bands to watch out for at Eurovision 2019.

Slip on some headphones and let’s go!

Australia

We’re calling it this year: we think Australia is up for the win! Kate Miller-Heidke will be singing for Australia at Eurovision 2019 with her song “Zero Gravity”, written and composed by herself and her spouse, Keir Nuttall. The song is quirky, unique, and intriguing, but comes with a dark undertone which makes it so interesting to listen to. The song itself is about the overcoming of depression, which Kate has explained in an SBS interview: “The kernel of the song started to germinate after I had my son Ernie and I went through a period of feeling quite low and depressed. It was around after he turned two, when I woke up one day and suddenly felt strong again. A new, wiser, maybe even stronger version of me. When I sing it, it is a powerful and a meaningful song. I love that the song is in some ways seriously emotionally, but in other ways, just the right level of bonkers.”

Cyprus

Last year, Cyprus came second to Israel with Eleni Foureira’s pumping tune ‘Fuego’. But this year, Cyprus is coming back with another pumping tune. Meet the illustrious Tamta who will sing ‘Replay’, written and composed by Alex Papaconstantinou, Teddy Sky, Viktor Svensson, Albin Nedler and Kristoffer Fogelmark. With that many hands-on-deck, you’d hope something would come out of it. We cannot get enough of the beat on the bridge, as well as the cool quirky costumes in the music video above. We’ve got high hopes for a crazily choreographed stage production.

Denmark

We’ve finally found something cuter than bunny rabbits, and it’s this song sung by Leonora titled “Love is Forever”. We must admit, it’s extremely catchy and absolutely adorable. We just hope she does the same stage production at Eurovision as she did in this video. The song itself was written and composed by Lise Cabble, Melanie Wehbe and Emil Lei, which needs to be said because this will be Denmark’s first multi-lingual song. It features English, French, Danish, and a smidge of German, all underlining the main message that love is forever.

Iceland

We’re not sure if it’s a possible winner since heavy dub metal has a very niche market. One could even call it esoteric, but it sure as hell turned our heads! Please welcome to the stage Hatari, with their song Hatrið Mun Sigra (Hate Will Prevail). Just when you thought Finland was weird with their Eurovision entry in 2006, Iceland comes along to up the ante. No, there are no crazy monster masks, just tight quirky costumes and plenty of lozenge-free throats. Here’s the opening verse in English: “Debauchery unconstrained, hangover uncontained, life’s purposeless confusion, the void will swallow all.” Enjoy!

Israel

This song sounds like something out of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, making it bloody beautiful. The singer is Kobi Marimi, singing ‘Home’ which is written and composed by Inbar Wizman and Ohad Shragai. Has Freddie Mercury been resurrected? Because it sure as hell looks like it. The voice is slightly different, though. Kobi rose to fame during Israel’s Rising Star reality show following a projected career path towards acting, which he uses quite well in this song that was written especially for him. There’s a chilling vibe in his voice and a lot of vocal control that brings this song to the foreground. Does it turn your head?

Malta

Michela’s ‘Chameleon’ currently has the popular vote on YouTube, with one person saying if it was released by Dua Lipa it could be a worldwide sensation. We couldn’t agree more! There’s something groovy going on with the tune, and it matches beautifully with Michela’s powerful singing and those wild bohemian outfits. The lyrics are contradictory since everyone in the film clip stands out. Chameleon was written and composed by Joacim Perrson, Paula Winger, Borislav Milanov and Johan Alkanas. Round of applause, ladies and gentlemen!

North Macedonia

We love anthem songs, and this is our favourite of the bunch. Pride is a necessity for survival in this burdened world, but you don’t need to tell Tamara Todevska that. She will grace the Eurovision stage with the song ‘Proud’, written by Kosta Petrov and Sanja Popovska and composed by Robert Bilbilov, Lazar Cvetkoski and Darko Dimitrov. It’s a wonderful call to action song, and we feel uplifted every time we listen to it. The only way this can really win, though, is with a well-constructed stage production. Good luck, North Macedonia!

Spain

If you can’t win them on spectacular vocal control or weird stage productions, then do what Spain does. Win them on beat! And by god, this is a beat. We introduce Miki, who will sing the festive and vibrant tune ‘La Venda’, written and composed by Adrià Salas. It’s so upbeat that the Hunter and Bligh office has been bouncing to this melody like nuts. Since it captures the rhythmic Spanish culture which we’ve seen before with the likes of ‘Despacito’, we are certain that Spain and possibly most of South America will bounce to it too. Plus, how can you say no to that infectious smile?

Sweden

We’ve been umming and ahhing about adding this song to our list since love songs don’t seem to fare well in competitions. But, after seeing a few reaction videos on YouTube, we’ve conceded. Please welcome singer/songwriter John Lundvik with his catchy and soulful song “Too Late For Love”. The song was written and composed by John Lundvik, Anderz Wrehov and Andreas Stone Johansson. It’s a lovely vibrant tune with a nice simple message, also those backup vocals are amazeballs! Harmony FTW!

Switzerland

Dirty dancing has been the underworld of the music industry for so long, but that’s what makes it fun. This song is a sensual gyration between groove and sex, splashed with a dash of suave. The main singer is Luca Hänni with his song “She Got Me”, written and composed by Laurell Barker, Mac Frazer, Luca Hänni, Jon Hällgren and Lukas Hällgren. If the stage production doesn’t involve serious dirty dancing, I will be sorely disappointed.