Name and where you live
I'm Cooper and I live in Brisbane, Queensland. I've grown up in the mighty state of QLD my entire life and over the past few years I have also spent time studying and living in Amsterdam a couple of times.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I am currently a university student studying creative industries, marketing and trend-watching. Outside of the Eurovision obsession, I have a major addiction to trashy reality television. Name a realityTV show and I've probably watched it; Married At First Sight, Survivor, Real Housewives, The Circle, the list goes on and on. If i had to choose one show though as my all time favourite it has to be Big Brother. I've watched every single Australian series there is as well as a heap of international versions totalling my viewing count to a whopping 53 series!
My other passions include music, movies and traveling. Thanks to Eurovision, I have a yearly excuse to go travel across the globe and explore new places. My Eurovision obsession has also got me started on a tattoo addiction as well. I already have a few pieces related to the contest including Kate Miller-Heidke's crown and Mäns Zelmerlow's balloon boy, with a lot more already planned out for the near future.
What is your Eurovision journey?
My first experience with Eurovision was actually a fateful walk past the television in the family room back in 2014. My mum said Eurovision was on and described it as a singing show, I sat down to watch expecting another American-Idol type show but boy was I wrong. The very first peformance I ever saw was 'Slavic Girls' from Poland and it was anything but "another singing show". Then one performance after another the acts got crazier and crazier; bearded women, hamster wheels, iceskaters, Icelandic rip-off Wiggles. This was the show for me.
After 2014, I was highly anticipating the next edition and then in perfect timing Australia was invited to compete. This switch from being external viewers to competitors turned me completely Eurovision obsessed. Year after year the addiction grew out of control. I now host an annual Eurovision party at a local cinema for friends and family to watch each year, the obsession is real!
2018 was the first year I tried to go to the competition and see it live but as a final year high school student it wasn't a realistic scenario. 2019 was my next attempt and I got a lot closer to going thanks to a Carpool Karaoke competition to win a trip to Israel. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as my friend and I finished runners-up losing the trip by just a single point! I was confident 2020 was going to be my year, I moved to The Netherlands to study abroad and I even got to see the venue in person but then of course the global pandemic stopped that plan in its tracks and cancelled the contest. After five years of attempts to get to Eurovision, 2022 will finally be the year I get to go!
Do you have any affinity to nations other than Australia?
After moving to study in Amsterdam, I've fallen in love with The Netherlands, so I always have a soft spot for them. Usually my winners each year are either Swedish or Norwegian so I do love my scandi-pop.
Any Aussievision highlights?
My favourite part of Aussievision for me is having my opinions on songs documented so I can look back on what I said and have a laugh at what are usually very bad takes. I despised 'Zitte E Buoni' at the start of the national final season and ranked it 30th. I also made the last minute prediction that 'Embers' was going to do much better than we all thought... Now those rather interesting opinions are documented forever on the internet.
Of course another highlight is having a space to interact with fellow Eurovision fans and it's such a great opportunity to work with a team that shares the same passion for the contest.
Quick questions on Eurovision entries
Best winner:
'Heroes' (Sweden 2015), 'Toy' (Israel)
Favourite three non-Australian entries:
'Shum' (Ukraine 2021), 'Spirit In The Sky' (Norway 2019), 'Beauty Never Lies' (Serbia 2015).
Favourite Australian entry:
I haven't decided yet between 'Zero Gravity' (Australia 2019) and 'Not The Same' (Australia 2022)
Favourites from the last century:
'Take Me To Your Heaven' (Sweden 1999) and of course the legendary 'Waterloo' (Sweden 1974).
Robberies:
I'd say 'Beautiful Mess' (Bulgaria 2017) not winning, 'Black Smoke' (Germany 2015) coming last, and 'The Moon Is Rising' (Latvia 2021) not qualifying to the final.
Makes you dance:
'Replay' (Cyprus 2019), 'Aphrodisiac' (Greece 2012) and 'Give That Wolf A Banana' (Norway 2022) are some of my favorite Eurovision bangers.
Guilty pleasure:
'My Friend' (Croatia 2017), 'Say Nanana' (San Marino 2019) and 'Still Beathing' (Latvia 2020), Crazy Eurovision will always be my favourite type of Eurovision.
Favourite non-qualifier:
'Space' (Montenegro 2017), Slavko's peformance is one of my all times favourite Eurovision moments. It's not high art in any way, shape or form but it's pure fun and Slavko is a true showman.
Favourite Eurovision year:
2021 - Just the most amazing collection of quality entries that I don't see being matched anytime soon.
2016 - Everything about this edition is legendary, the entries, the hosts, the production. It was top notch from the Swedes.
1999 - Going back and watching contests older than me are fascinating because you find gems in them that have stood the test of time. Israel 1999 is a memorable one for me
2014 - It was the show that drew me into this whole world. It was the golden era of Eurovision where there was a perfect balance of cheesy and quality entries.
Favourite national finals:
Melodifestivalen (Sweden) is the biggest and best for a reason. Swedish pop is my favourite type of music so a whole six week contest of it is my bread and butter.
Favourite national final songs:
Really anything from Melfest comes to mind, 'Bulletproof' (Sweden 2020), 'Little Tot' (Sweden 2021), 'Bluffin' (Sweden 2022), 'Kingdom Come' (Sweden 2020), the list goes on and on.
Any final comments?
I love being a Eurovision fan, especially and Australian Eurovision fan! Even though those 5am wake ups can be painful, they're also so much fun and it becomes something you look forward to each and every year. I think being so far away from the contest makes it feel even bigger than it is, It's the world stage for music and to be a small part of that machine is truly my favourite thing in the world.