Spilling the tea with Dami Im – five takeaways from her interview with Pedestrian TV
- Paul Basilio
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Ahead of the 10-year anniversary of winning the jury vote and finishing second in Eurovision 2016, Dami Im had a chat to the Villain Edit podcast about what it was like being part of Eurovision, what would have happened if Sound of Silence had actually won, and Delta Goodrem’s chances at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
It is almost 10 years ago since Dami Im almost won Eurovision. On the morning of 15 May 2016, bleary-eyed Australian Eurovision fans waited with bated breath as Dami came agonisingly close to winning the Contest, finishing in second place with 511 points, 23 points behind eventual winner, Jamala’s 1944 from Ukraine.
Sound of Silence won the jury vote with 320 points and came fourth in the televote with 191 points. Up until this point, Dami’s performance is the highest place that Australia has ever come in the Contest on all fronts – the highest overall position and the highest number of points received (from the jury, from the televote, and overall).
To celebrate her 10-year anniversary and on the eve of Eurovision 2026, Dami sat down with the Villain Edit podcast (part of the Pedestrian Group) to share her memories of her Eurovision experience (particularly when it came down to the Grand Final), what she’s up to now, and what she thinks of Delta’s chances this year.
In a fascinating and very revealing interview, here are five key takeaways (of many!) from her interview.
TAKEAWAY 1
Dami’s observations of her delegation during the results: “I could see them freaking out… they were trying to figure this out in real time”.
In potentially the most viral moment of this interview, when asked if there was going to be a plan if she would have won, Dami admits that there was panic that had set in, especially with how well her performance was received in the semi-final a couple of days prior to the final.
Dami says that no one from her team truly believed that she was going to win – her team wanted her to aim high, but may be not “too high” since the reality and the logistics of Australia hosting the Contest were not fully ironed out.
TAKEAWAY 2
Her Eurovision performance gives her “goosebumps” all these years later.
Early in the interview, she looks fondly at the memories of singing Sound of Silence on the Eurovision stage in 2016. When she sings that song in her concerts and festivals, she says that she’s taken back to that moment.
She says:
“The Eurovision performance, for me, really it changed my life, like that’s not an over-statement”.
TAKEAWAY 3
Dami was not the first choice to represent Australia at Eurovision 2016.
Although she was approached by SBS to represent Australia at the Contest in 2016, Dami found out later that she wasn’t SBS’s first choice that year. She recalls that:
“They asked somebody else and they were working towards it and then they had a big falling out and they’re like, ‘Who can we pick?’”.
She laughs that off saying that it has worked out for her. Dami also knows who was SBS’s first choice that year but remained coy in saying who that performer was.
TAKEAWAY 4
The Sound of Silence remix was a chance to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the song and the performance.
Dami said that she wanted to celebrate the 10-year anniversary with something special, so when the opportunity to collaborate with Electric Fields came up, she jumped at the chance.
She also shared the fun fact that she and Michael Ross (one half of Electric Fields) were also on the X-Factor together in the Top 24, where they flew off to New York to sing in front of Kylie and Dannii Minogue.
TAKEAWAY 5
Dami thinks that Australia has a genuine chance of winning Eurovision… with Delta!
In the latter stages of the interview, Dami says that Australia can win Eurovision: “I think if we do the right performance, right song, right everything, right campaign… I don’t doubt it”.
She believes that Delta can bring that first win for anyone. Dami says:
“If anyone can do it for us, it’s Delta, she’s got it [because] Delta has the chops and the experience, she knows what she’s doing, she’s smart… Eclipse is a really good song, such a catchy interesting song to listen to”.
For more insights and revelations from Dami, you can watch the full interview on YouTube in the PEDESTRIAN TV channel or listen to it on Spotify in the Villain Edit podcast.
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