It was revealed on the Ö3 Wecker show on Austrian radio station Hitradio Ö3 that Austrian broadcaster ÖRF has internally selected Kaleen to represent Austria at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö.
Kaleen, the alter-ego of dancer, singer, choreographer, and model Marie-Sophie Kreissl, is an Austrian pop singer-songwriter based in Vienna. Hailing from the small village of Ried im Traunkreis in Northern Austria, her grandmother is Hanneliese Kreißl-Wurth, known for schlager and folk music. Kaleen has been dancing since the age of two and a half years old, starting with ballet classes and progressing to couples dancing, hip-hop, competing in state and European championships, and later, sharing the stage with superstars including Anastacia.
Deciding to become a singer in 2020, Kaleen released her first single 'Too Good To Not' in September 2021, followed by her debut album 'Stripping Feelings' two years later, in September 2023.
Kaleen describes her sound as "vibrant music" that "manifests the brightest, most exhilarating sides of life" and cites Katy Perry and Ariana Grande as her musical inspirations. "I'm a fan of pop music that puts you in a good mood," says Kaleen.
Speaking to Tirolean newspaper 'Tiroler Tageszeitung', the Austrian singer said:
"Kaleen is an outlet for me. Where Marie-Sophie is too quiet and quiet, Kaleen behaves completely differently on stage. It's fun for me to slip into this role, sexier than in everyday life, to have more courage, to wear different things and to appear different. There are two personalities in me."
2024 will not be the first time that Kaleen has stood on the Eurovision stage - she was a stand-in for Eleni Foureira in rehearsals for her 2018 Eurovision Song Contest entry 'Fuego'!
Kaleen has also worked with Marvin Dietmann, the creative director of Aussie act Voyager's performance at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.
Fun fact: 'Kaleen' means 'water' in the language of the Wiradjuri tribe of the central west region of New South Wales!
Kaleen's Eurovision entry will be released at a later date.
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