Montaigne from Australia didn’t make it: She’s not in the final in Rotterdam, and she’s also not really in the first semi-final on Tuesday evening.

Of the 39 participants, only the delegation from Down Under did not travel to the 65th Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) because of Corona.

Too dangerous.

The singer, who is actually called Jessica Alyssa Cerro, was only switched on after her performance had been recorded by a band.

The twenty-five-year-old had recorded it under live conditions and under the watchful eyes of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) two months ago.

Peter-Philipp Schmitt

Editor in the section “Germany and the World”.

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    Was this a disadvantage for her now?

    Maybe.

    Their up-tempo song “Technicolor” didn't really ignite.

    On stage in the Ahoy Arena and especially in front of a large audience, she might have gotten more out of herself and her song.

    But this is the first time that Australia is not in the final.

    The ESC-crazy country, which has been crazy about the ESC since the Abba times, has been there five times since 2015, four times there was a top ten place.

    This year came the premature end.

    Montaigne was supposed to represent her country in Rotterdam as early as 2020, of course with a different song.

    However, “Norway's greatest pop star”, TIX, as Andreas Haukeland from Bærum calls himself, did it.

    The twenty-eight-year-old had been nicknamed "tics" since he was at school because he suffered from Tourette's syndrome and had tics.

    He later made the fictional character TIX out of this, with lots of fur, sunglasses and a headband.

    He also wrote the catchy power ballad "Fallen Angel", which is reminiscent of the Canadian rock band Saga.

    On stage he also wears wings and chains on which he leads his “inner demons”.

    As recently revealed, they include suicidal thoughts.

    The partly dark-looking song is catchy and absolutely bombastic - and Norway, which is spoiled for success, is really no surprise in an ESC finale.

    Second chance in the second Corona year

    In general, there were no surprises in the first semifinal, which was heavily occupied. It was clear that Vasil from North Macedonia would not make it. The 36-year-old singer with Bulgarian roots had written the unimpressive “Here I Stand” last year when he heard of the cancellation of the ESC. When his big dream fell through, he wrote the song with which he was to represent his country this year. So he got a second chance and couldn't use it again in the second Corona year.

    It was just as clear that Russia would make it. Or maybe not - the huge empire, which for a long time also appeared to be overpowering at the ESC, had recently stumbled: In 2018 Julija Samoilova was eliminated in the semifinals, but she can be considered a victim of the Crimean occupation. Manischa, on the other hand, does not fit into the otherwise state-prescribed concept. The 29-year-old singer from Tajikistan is an activist who campaigns for the rights of women and LGBTQ as well as against xenophobia and domestic violence. She is the special ambassador of the UN refugee agency and was strongly attacked by conservative forces in her home country.