Can Guy Sebastian win Eurovision? He says he's just hoping not to come last
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Version 0 of 1. Guy Sebastian is among of the favourites heading into the Eurovision Song Contest grand final but the Australian is talking down his chances, insisting he’s simply hoping to avoid embarrassment. Sebastian’s song Tonight Again has created a buzz in Vienna with the bookies ranking him in the top five of 27 finalists. Related: Australia's Guy Sebastian gears up for Eurovision final: I don't take it lightly But the 33-year-old former Idol winner and X Factor judge isn’t getting carried away by all the hype. “A little competitive side of me just doesn’t want to come dead last,” he told reporters at the Stadthalle arena on Friday night (Saturday morning AEST). “Because it wouldn’t be nice doing interviews in the morning with Australia and them going ‘So you embarrassed us – don’t come back’.” One reporter pondered aloud whether Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott, should knight Sebastian if Australia – which was invited to compete as a wild card entry – won the title. “Well, he’s handing them out willy-nilly,” Sebastian replied. Sebastian will perform 12th on Saturday night – just before the interval. Artists tend to do better if they’re in the second half of the show but SBS co-host Julia Zemiro says that late in the opening section is OK too. Austria’s Conchita Wurst won in 2014 after performing 11th. Sebastian himself just wants to get on with the show after six weeks of intense preparation. “I just want to do it now,” he said on Friday night. “There’s been such a huge build-up and numerous run throughs and rehearsals and, as a performer, you just build it up and build it up and you just want to get it done so that you can breathe a sigh of relief.” The Malaysian-born South Australian is backing Sweden to win. Mans Zelmerlow, 28, has a cool song and even cooler on-stage big-screen graphics. “For me, I thought Sweden was outstanding [in rehearsal],” Sebastian said. He also rates Latvia, Belgium, Russia, Norway and Serbia. The Australian has pared back his own stage show after deciding the initial concept had too much lighting and “pyros”. “We’re really happy with where it’s at now,” he said on the eve of the final. “It’s not too much, it’s just simple – we just wanted to put on a show that was fun and that people didn’t have to think too much about. “It’s not so graphic-focused [now] it’s about the vibe and the fun and the soul and its delivery.” The head of the Australian delegation, Paul Clarke, thinks Sebastian could win the jury vote which makes up 50% of a performer’s score. Then if the European nations split the public vote, Australia could surprise. “That’s what happened with Conchita Wurst in 2014,” Clarke said. “She did not carry the eastern bloc at all but she had so many jury votes, and she did so well in western Europe, that she won.” Clarke says countries including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK have already indicated they like Sebastian. But he admitted the eastern European nations were more sceptical about Australia being in Eurovision at all. He said while 75% of entrants were supportive, the other 25% were less enamoured with the Aussie interlopers. At least one British fan has switched his support from UK entrant Electro Velvet to Sebastian. John Bridge from London, travelled to Vienna for the final and said Sebastian was his pick of the bunch, but Sweden’s Zelmerlow was the one to beat. “I think it’s all about Mans and Guy this year,” he said, agreeing with other UK fans at the event. |