Australia’s 2019 Eurovision Act Is Kate Miller-Heidke In A Giant Cake Dress

Australia’s representative at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest has finally been decided. Our emissary to Europe shall be Kate Miller-Heidke, immobilised in a towering dress and menaced by a woman on a pole.

The final of Eurovision – Australia Decides was aired live on SBS last night. Though Australia has participated in Eurovision since 2015, this was the first time the Australian public had input on deciding the act sent. Viewers could call to vote for their chosen act, with the winner determined by a combination of the public vote and a jury of industry professionals.

The night was full of impressive performances, but the singer who ultimately claimed the title of Australia’s Next Top Eurovision Hope was 37-year-old Kate Miller-Heidke.

Dressed like one of those retro cakes that has a doll stuck in its middle, Miller-Heidke performed her new operatic pop song ‘Zero Gravity’, which was just released late last month. Miller-Heidke said she wrote ‘Zero Gravity’ as she was recovering from post-natal depression.

“Well, it’s a song about coming out of depression and it tries to capture that feeling of transcending a long period of feeling low,” she told SBS. “Especially, what coming out of that feels like, and what it feels like when the world gets its colour back and things come back into focus.”

Kate Miller Heidke has out Eurovisioned Eurovision #AusDecides #Eurovision

— Von A.K.A Undie Girl 🌈 (@UndieGirl) February 9, 2019

Wearing a spiked tiara reminiscent of an ice queen’s crown, Miller-Heidke remained trapped in the 3.3m-tall cake outfit throughout the entire performance, while behind her a woman in a black dress flailed about like a Pole Cat from Mad Max: Fury Road. 

I suspect the woman was meant to symbolise depression, but she could just as easily have been there for the aesthetic. It was all very Eurovision.

Miller-Heidke won 135 points overall, topping both the audience vote with 87 points and the jury vote with 48 points.

Electric Fields’ ‘2000 and Whatever’ came second by 21 points, achieving a score of 114, while a total score of 87 granted third place to Sheppard’s ‘On My Way’. The 10 finalists had been whittled down from over 700 entries, so simply making it into the finals was already an achievement.

The 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Tel Aviv, Israel during May, and will be broadcast by SBS in Australia.