Evie Irie joins Isaiah Firebrace for Eurovision journey

Isaiah Firebrace is hoping to head back to Eurovision and represent Australia for a second time, this time round he’s teaming up with newcomer Evie Irie.

To be Australia’s entry in the 2022 competition, first they need to win Eurovision – Australia Decides 2022. Hosted on the Gold Coast and broadcast live and exclusively on SBS on Saturday 26 February, the national selection show will feature some of Australia’s biggest acts, singing original compositions, for their chance to represent the country in Turin, Italy.

Firebrace will team up with the pop-punk newcomer Evie Irie to perform their self-penned anthem When I’m With You, which will be released on 4th February. Irie said she had a lot of fun creating the soon to be revealed track.

“If there’s one thing I like as much as creating music for my own projects, it’s writing with other artists for their projects: it’s not work, it’s just fun!  So when Isaiah and his team asked me to do Eurovision with this random wonderful song called, When I’m With You, that we had such a great time writing together, I was seriously shook. I never EVER thought I’d have the chance to play at Eurovision and I just can’t say no to Isaiah.”

Isaiah Firebrace shared his excitement about their collaboration too.

“Sometimes life takes you on a very unusual journey. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined doing Eurovision – Australia Decides with Evie Irie but I am so thankful that our planets aligned and we get to do this together.

“We wrote the song together, we jumped out of a plane together and we want to represent Australia together. Being together is what the song is all about and what the world needs right now. I’m incredibly proud to being doing this with Evie – she’s so unique and so special… wait until the world gets to know her like I have!!!”

The duo will have some tough competition though Sheldon Riley, G-Nat!on, Paulini, Jaguar Jonze and Sean Miley Moore have all put their hands up to be in the competition as well as lesser known acts including Charley, Andrew Lambrou, Jude York, and Voyager.

Voyager have shared their song Dreamer and it’s a mix of rock and eletronica.  Vocalist and keytar player Danny Estrin explained the inspiration for the song.

“As humans, we tend to look to the stars and glorify what could be. Simply, Dreamer is about looking at the here, the now and valuing what we have around us. Especially over the last two years, hopes and dreams vs the tiny locked down bubble we live in has been a constant push and pull… It’s good to be a dreamer, but the grass isn’t necessarily always greener. We’re bringing this track to Eurovision – Australia Decides as our official entry and we can’t wait to finally be on stage again!” Estrin said.

Newcomer Jude York has also shared his song that he hopes can be Australia’s choice. He’ll be hoping his angelic song will tap into a global emotion sparked by lockdowns, and an uncertain world.

“I Won’t Need to Dream was written by Billy Stonecipher and myself as the message we needed to hear. During this time when the future seems so precarious and it’s impossible to make plans, I couldn’t help but feel a little hopeless – about my life, relationships and career.

“Billy and I toyed around with a few different ways of translating that emotion into music but it all fell together when I played that first line on piano. The song practically wrote itself from there. We were really inspired by songs of the 30’s and 40’s like Dream by the Pied Pipers and Over The Rainbow by Judy Garland.” York explained.

“The lyrics are simple and optimistic and writing it felt like I was consoling myself, singing a lullaby to help me get through this difficult patch. We’ve all had an incredibly tough two years and it’s so easy to feel hopeless.

“I want this song to be like a warm hug to anyone who listens to it, a gentle reminder that things can get better and that dreams eventually become reality. For me, this song has already taken me further than I thought possible.”

Eurovision – Australia Decides will air on SBS on Saturday 26 February, 7.30pm AEST

OIP Staff

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