Hi Nathan, thank you for taking some time out from your schedule to talk to us about your Eurovision experience so far. Firstly could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself and how you became a singer?

- My name is Nathan Trent, I’m 24 and I’m a singer and soangwriter from Austria. I was raised bilingually, Italian and German and I’ve always loved the theater. I recently finished my studies in musical theater and I have been writing a lot of songs in the past years. I have been singing since I was a child and at the age of 11 I started writing my own songs. Through the years I figured out which genre I felt the best in and after a lot of writing, I decided to release my first single „Like It is“ back in June 2016.

Could you tell us how you were chosen to represent your country in Kyiv?

- I was asked by Eberhard Forcher, if I wanted to participate at the internal pre-selection and of course, I said yes! After months of writing and recording, the ORF made the decision to choose „Running on Air“ as their entry, which made me incredibly proud!

Foto: ORF/Thomas Ramstorfer

Since being chosen as the Austrian representative, has your life changed much? Is there something that is completely new maybe?

- Well, I’d say there are definitely more cameras in my life right now and people ask me more questions than usual ;). But I’m very honored and happy that my music creates such an interest, I feel incredibly honored! I’ve been receiving a lot of love and support from all over Europe! I’m so happy that people like my song and I’m more than grateful to be able to experience that my music is being heard all over.

You released your song back in February, What is the meaning and the message of your song and what does it mean personally to you?

- The title “Running On Air” is more like a metaphor for enjoying and appreciating life with its ups and downs. I wrote this song during a moment in my life, where I wasn’t really sure which career path I was going to take. I needed something to remind me of my strengths and something that would motivate me. The lyrics came very naturally as well as the melody. I hope that people will be able to relate to this song.

Could you perhaps give us an insight as to what we are to expect from your performance and show in Kyiv? Or will you keep everything a secret to surprise us?

- Unfortunately I can’t give away anything, but I can tell you that we found something that suits the song in the best way. Let me surprise you!

What is your earliest memory of Eurovision and how did you first hear about the contest? Do you perhaps have any favorite songs from past editions of the contest?

- Back in 2010 when Lena Meyer-Landrut won. That was the moment I realized how great the ESC is! I’d say Euphoria by Loreen is my all-time favorite!

You asked fans to help you decide on four Eurovision entries for you to cover in an acoustic live session. How did you come up with the idea and why did you decide to do it?

- I wanted to honor the contestants from the past years and celebrate this incredible journey by singing Eurovision songs. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to participate in such an amazing event and I couldn’t be more grateful to represent my country with my own song.

Thank you so much once again Nathan for answering our questions – we wish you the best of luck in May. Do you perhaps have a message for your fans and our readers?

- Thank you so much for your interview! To all the readers and supporters: Thank you for supporting and believing in me and the song! Also thanks taking your time and getting to know me a little more! I wish you all the best and I’m very thankful to celebrate and share this incredible experience with you! Yours, Nathan

Look at the official video of Nathan’s song: „Running on Air“! 

FORUM: Austria 2017.

Mi smo uspeli da uhvatimo malo njenog slobodnog vremena i da joj postavimo nekoliko pitanja. Evo šta je Mirela rekla za naš portal.

Zdravo Mirela, posle osam godina se vraćaš na špansko nacionalno finale. Kakav je osećaj ponovo se boriti za odlazak na Evroviziju?

– Osećaj je sjajan! Zaista se radujem sledećoj suboti, da vidim gde će me to odvesti.

Imaš veoma iskusan tim koji stoji iza tvoje pesme. Kako je bilo raditi sa Tonijem, Isakom i Ovijem?

- Neverovatno! Uvek je sjajno raditi sa Tonijem, jer, iako je perfekcionista, on čini stvari veoma jednostavnim za umetnika, pa se i ja osećam prijatno dok radim sa njim.
Ovija ne poznajem lično, jer je on svoj deo posla završio u Rumuniji, dok je Isak zaista sjajan momak i producent.
Veoma sam srećna što imam profesionalan tim koji stoji uz mene.

Da li si gledala Evroviziju poslednjih godina? Da li ti je neka pesma posebno privukla pažnju?

- Trudim se da gledam Evroviziju svake godine, osim ake to veče ne nastupam u mjuziklu Kralj Lavova.
Mnoge pesme su mi privukle pažnju i uvek ih potražim na iTunes-u.
Evo na primer australijska prošlogodišnja pesma, ali i bugarska su mi odlične…

Od kako su uvedene polufinala, samo su Ramon, Pastora i Rut uspeli da završe u top 10. Šta ti misliš, zašto Španiji ne ide dobro na Evroviziji?

– Zaista ne mogu da odgovorim na to pitanje, jer smo imali mnogo neverovatnih umetnika da nas predstavljaju. Oni su dali sve od sebe na sceni i veoma smo ponosni na sve njih, bez obzira na krajnji rezultat.

Zamislimo da Španija pobedi na Evroviziji? Šta bi to značilo za zemlju? Kako bi se ti osećala?

- Mogu ti reći da bi se organizovala veeelika žurka!!!
Hay una fiesta y mi cabeza va Baila la la la, baila la la la…
PARTY PARTY !!! Hahaha :)))))

Koga smatraš najvećim konkurentom na predstojećem takmičenju?

- Mi smo toliko različiti izvođači da nismo jedni drugima konkurenti, ali zaista.

I da li bi bila ljubazna da nam kažeš nešto zanimljivo o sebi? Nešto što ne zna baš svako? :)

- Nisam toliko tajanstvena kao osoba, ali mogu vam reći da volim da slušam neku vrstu muzike, koju ljudi ne bi baš očekivali, a to je latino muzika. Hahaha

Mirela, još jednom ti puno hvala na odvojenom vremenu. Još bih te samo pitao da li imaš neku poruku za evrovizijske fanove iz Srbije?

- Hvala svima koji su pročitali ovaj intervju! Još uvek pamtim Molitvu, jer je bila i ostala neverovatna pesma. Nadam se da ću uskoro biti u prilici da posetim vašu zemlju! Hvala vam svima na podršci! XOXOXO

Rekord po broju učesnika bio bi zabeležen da Bosna i Hercegovina nije odustala od takmičenja. Naime, kako je izjavila čelnica bosanske delegacije, Lejla Babović, predstavnik BiH neće se pojaviti u Kijevu zbog nedostatka finansijskih sredstava. Ona navodi da se BHRT poslednjih godina suočava sa finansijskim poteškoćama i to najviše zbog slabe naplate TV pretplate.

Od 1. jula ove godine nema zakona koji osigurava naplatu TV pretplate, zbog čega su naše brojne aktivnosti ugrožene. U takvoj situaciji bilo bi neodgovorno aplicirati za tako skup projekat kao što je nastup na Evrosongu, a svesni smo da to ne možemo finansirati – Lejla Babović.

Po pravilniku Pesme Evrovizije, koji je ove godine nešto izmenjen, pridruženi članovi EBU sada mogu da učestvuju na Pesmi Evrovizije ukoliko to odobri Referentna grupa ovog takmičenja. Pridruženi članovi Evropske radiodifuzne unije su:

• Australija
• Bangladeš
• Brazil
• Čile
• Hong Kong
• Indija
• Iran
• Japan
• Južna Afrika
• Južna Koreja
• Kanada
• Kazahstan
• Kina
• Kuba
• Malezija
• Mauricijus
• Novi Zeland
• Oman
• Sirija
• Sjedinjene Američke Države

Australiju, koja je već zabeležila dva učešća (2015. i 2016.) gledaćemo po treći put na takmičenju za najbolju pesmu Evrope. Promena pravila omogućava nekim od gore navedenih zemalja da se u budućnosti pridruže Evrosongu. Navodeći činjenice i brojke, interesantan podatak je da će ovo biti jubilarno 60. učešće Austrije, Danske i Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva.

Kijevski Internacionalni izložbeni centar (NTU)

Ukrajinska prestonica biće drugi put domaćin najvećeg muzičkog takmičenja u Evropi, a četvrti put domaćin evrovizijskim takmičenjima, jer je Kijev 2005. godine bio domaćin Pesme Evrovizije, a 2009. i 2013. Dečije Pesme Evrovizije. Internacionalni izložbeni centar je dvorana gde će se održati takmičenje, a prima oko 11.000 posetilaca.

Učesnici Pesme Evrovizije 2017. godine:

• Albanija
• Australija
• Austrija
• Azerbejdžan
• Bugarska
• Belgija
• Belorusija
• Češka Republika
• Crna Gora
• Danska
• Estonija
• Finska
• Francuska
• Gruzija
• Grčka
• Holandija
• Hrvatska
• Irska
• Island
• Italija
• Izrael
• Jermenija
• Kipar
• Letonija
• Litvanija
• Mađarska
• Makedonija
• Malta
• Moldavija
• Nemačka
• Norveška
• Poljska
• Portugalija
• Rumunija
• Rusija
• San Marino
• Srbija
• Slovenija
• Španija
• Švedska
• Švajcarska
• Ukrajina
• Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo