‘Eurovision – Australia Decides’ reveals TikTok Wildcard, adds Dylan Lewis and Montaigne
Things are heating up at Eurovision – Australia Decides as it gets set to stage this month.
Broadcaster SBS revealed the identity of the inaugural TikTok Wildcard, Dylan Lewis joined the hosting lineup, Montaigne will perform, and three new songs were unveiled.
The Wildcard winner is 19-year-old Melbourne hip hop & pop singer/ songwriter Erica Padilla.
Her Eurovision submission grew her following to 1.2 million fans across the world.
“I feel like somebody needs to pinch me because I always hoped but never thought this could actually be possible,” said the act, whose last single ‘By The Way’ came out in October.
“Eurovision has made some of the greats and to be chosen as the TikTok Wildcard gives me so much hope.
“From performing to my phone in my bedroom to performing at Eurovision – Australia Decides and potentially the biggest stage in the world this year in Italy – now that would be a dream come true.”
For Ollie Wards, director of Music TikTok Australia / New Zealand, there is a correlation between TikTok discovering Australian artists and Eurovision’s power to create global stars.
“So it’s exciting to bring the two together and see the incredible Erica Padilla enter the competition as our TikTok Wildcard,” he said.
“We’re already so proud to support Erica onto this stage and no doubt her millions of TikTok followers as well as new fans are going to get behind her.”
Padilla joins Evie Irie & Isaiah Firebrace, avant-garde performance artist Sheldon Riley, R&B singer Paulini, multi-media artist Jaguar Jonze, six-piece girl group G-NAT!ON, pop singer Andrew Lambrou, newcomer Charley, Seann Miley Moore, Perth’s metal quintet Voyager, and singer-songwriter Jude York.
Dylan Lewis won ‘I’m A Celebrity…’ this year
Media personality Dylan Lewis was also unveiled as the event’s first-ever Green Room host, while Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst do the honours out-front.
“I live for music. I write it, perform it, teach it, collect it, present it, talk about it and need it,” he said.
“Since hosting the Recovery music show back in the day, I’ve presented a pile of other music TV shows and done a pile of radio too… playing music.
“Yep. I bloody love music. So to get to be involved in the world’s most eclectic, colourful, diverse and magical music show is a dream.”
Montaigne, who won the 2020 edition, returns to perform the victorious song ‘Technicolour’.
SBS also revealed three new songs: Irie & Firebrace’s ‘When I’m With You’; Paulini’s anthemic ‘We Are One’ penned by songwriters Rick Price and John Capek; and Jaguar Jonze’s ‘Little Fires’ which she describes as “a reminder about where we’ve come from, what we are fighting for, and what we can achieve when we work together”.
Eurovision – Australia Decides is presented at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on Friday February 25 and Saturday 26.