Austria at Eurovision
Austria made their Eurovision debut in 1957, with the song ‘Wohin, Kleines Pony?’ (Where to, little pony). Unfortunately, the little pony went straight to the last position on the results table.
In 1964 Udo Jurgens represented Austria and came 6th. It wasn’t good enough for Udo who came back in 1965 and came 4th. It was Udo’s third consecutive attempt in 1966 that saw Austria’s first win, with the song ‘Merci Cherie’.
It was 48 years before their next win with Conchita Wurst’s iconic ‘Rise Like a Phoenix’ in 2014. Austria currently hold the record for longest gap between wins.
2022 entry: LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – ‘Halo’
LUM!X feat. Pia Maria will be competing in position 13 in semi-final 1
My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 7th
Odds to win ranking: 24th
(rankings as of 12 April 2022)
About the artists
Pia Maria is a 18-year-old singer-songwriter and a relative newcomer to the international music scene. She has always loved musical theatre and the performing arts, even attending a music middle school. However, she didn’t pursue a degree or apprenticeship in performing but followed her other love, stage make up.
Pia Maria has just completed a beauty and stage makeup apprenticeship at Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, Austria. Although studying make up design, Pia Maria kept writing music throughout her apprenticeship which has stood her in good stead for this exciting next chapter.
LUM!X, born Luca Michlmayr is a 19-year-old who has been composing electronic music since he was 11. His big break was in 2019 when he teamed up with Gabry Ponte from Eiffel 65 (Blue, dub a dee) fame and produced an EDM cover of 2006 Indie pop-rock song, ‘Monster’.
The song has been incredibly successful, spending 80 weeks on the German music charts and ultimately being certified 3x Platinum and 7x Gold, making LUM!X the youngest Austrian to have a Gold record.
Since then, LUM!X has collaborated with many European EDM heavy hitters including, Orange INC (the Netherlands), DJ Hyperclap (Germany) and continued his music partnership with Gabry Ponte (Italy). LUM!X even has a connection to Australia at Eurovision. A collaboration with Seb Mont, Seb co-wrote Alfie Arcuri’s 2019 Australia Decides entry ‘To Myself’.
LUM!X’s profile has continued to rise and he has collected another Platinum record for his cover of Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’ and a Gold record for his song ‘Thunder’. Making him the most successful Austrian DJ to date.
About the song
The song has quite the list of names behind it. It’s written by Anders Nilsen, Gabry Ponte, Luca Michlmayr (LUM!X), Sophie Alexandra Tweed-Simmons and Rasmus Flyckt.
LUM!X identifies the song as a comeback, a call to people to go out and party again. He has written and produced the song to be a party anthem that can go from club to radio.
Pia Maria’s take on the song is slightly different. For her the song is about being able to do anything. It’s clear that the underlying feeling of positivity this song brings resonates with its performers.
How were LUM!X feat. Pia Maria chosen for Eurovision
The Austrian song was chosen through an internal selection process. The Austrian broadcaster ORF has internally picked the last six Eurovision entries. This year in mid-January ORF had narrowed down the selection to four acts; LUM!X, Anger, DeleDap and Candlelight Fictus. By the end of January rumours were circulating that the choice was between LUM!X and Anger. LUM!X was announced as the representative on the radio show Ö3-Wecker on February 8.
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Austria will compete in semi-final 1 on May 12 (European time) in Turin.
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