Eurovision 2017: Australian singer Isaiah Firebrace misses high note, enters grand finals
Australian singer Isaiah Firebrace has successfully advanced to the grand finals of the 62nd annual “Eurovision Song Contest” 2017. The 17-year-old singer, who also won 2016's “The X Factor Australia,” impressed voters by performing “Don’t Come Easy” in the semi-finals.
However, the teenager was not happy with his performance. “There was just a high note that I went for. I didn’t place it correctly, argh,” Firebrace said. He added that he is “just human,” and despite trying his best to work on the song, he did commit an error. Firebrace, however, chose to stay positive, saying he is happy he got all other notes correctly.
The channel ironically repeated the mistake during a series of performance highlights played at a crucial voting phase. The singer, originally from Moama in southern New South Wales, nevertheless got high votes from fans, helping him secure a seat in the finals.
"Eurovision has been a dream come true for me, and I’m so happy I get to be on the stage again for the Grand Final," Firebrace said. He also thanked fans on his Instagram by posting a clip of him holding a flag. “OMG GRAND FINALS OF EUROVISION!!!!!! THANKS SO MUCH EUROPE,” he wrote, expressing his excitement. Check out the video below.
Firebrace had to face tough competition from singers from 18 countries, all competing for the 10 spots in the grand finale. He is the third Australian to make it into the Eurovision contest, following the footsteps of Dami Im and Guy Sebastian. Dami Im is a fellow “The X-Factor” alumni who won second place in Eurovision 2016; Sebastian secured fifth spot in the competition in 2015.
The grand finals of Eurovision 2017 will be held this weekend in Kyiv, Ukraine. Nine other countries battling it out for the title are Moldova, Azerbaijan, Greece, Sweden, Portugal, Poland, Armenia, Cyprus and Belgium. The countries who weren't able to make it are Georgia, Albania, Montenegro, Finland, Iceland, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Latvia. The 18 countries in the next semi-finals will be Serbia, Austria, Macedonia, Malta, Romania, Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, San Marino, Croatia, Norway, Switzerland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia and Israel. The second semi-finals for the Eurovision 2017 will be shown live on SBS on Thursday, May 11.
For those who missed the first semi-finals of Eurovision 2017, they can watch the video here. Viewers may also vote using the official app of the competition. Meanwhile, check out Firebrace's performance of “Don’t Come Easy” below:
