Australia’s act Voyager reckon a ‘curse’ is behind Mae Muller’s disappointing results at the 2023 Song Contest.
The UK broke a string of less-than-ideal results in 2022 with Sam Ryder’s Space Man, which came second to outright winners .
However the in Liverpool, as the UK entry Mae came inwith her track I Wrote A Song.
The Grand Final was packed with absolutely stellar performances, including and Finland’s new hero Kaarija as well as massively popular entries from Israel, Norway and more.
However the general consensus is that Mae – something Australian stars Voyager agree with.
Metro.co.uk caught up with frontman Danny Estrin after the band became the underdog story of Eurovision 2023, landing in a solid ninth place with their prog metal track A Promise.
And while Danny is overjoyed at being ‘the underdog to surpass expectations,’ he, like many of us, was left.
Admitting he’s ‘really not sure’ how Mae placed so low, he added the show saw ‘a lot of surprises … a few upsets.’
‘If you were in the room you would have seen us start the conga line during Mae Muller’s set. We loved it … it was such a celebration, it’s a great song.
‘Maybe it’s the curse of the UK, maybe Sam Ryder broke that curse last year so I don’t know – maybe someone forgot to put the bay leaves in the patchouli this year. I really don’t know.’
The voting was ‘brutal in some ways,’ he admitted, but insisted it is quickly forgotten amid the ‘magic’ of the rest of the competition.
‘You forget so quickly how brutal the voting can be because you’re overwhelmed by the magic and fun of the whole contest. While it’s hard, I don’t think you go home with, “That was crap because the votes were brutal.” You very quickly get over it and think “That was the best time of my life.”‘
This seems to be true for Mae, who later spoke out to say she would ‘remember the energy in [the arena] forever,’ and thanked fans for their continued support.
Voyager themselves are basking in the newfound international spotlight, with Danny – currently still in Europe – joking he feels like an ‘international superstar.’
‘I’m in Warsaw right now and even walking the street of Warsaw I’m getting mobbed for photos. It’s like, “Maybe I am an international superstar now. Maybe … at least for a couple of weeks.”‘
The new recognition couldn’t have come at a better time for the fice-piece, who are set to release record Fearless In Love in July, which the frontman describes as ‘uplifting, melancholic and synth-sational.’
He hopes the LP will be one for both new and old fans, even ones who don’t usually listen to heavy music, and joked: ‘I’m confident people will not be let down, and pardon the pun, but I promise them it’s going to be alright!’
He goes on to explain Voyager have been sitting n this album ‘for some time’ and are now itching to get it into the world.
‘We were going to release it and then Eurovision came along so we thought let’s wait for that. It’s one of the greatest marketing campaigns anyone could ever wish for, especially for a new album.’
The extra spotlight also means the band are scrambling to make changes to their upcoming Europe tour: the rockers will return in October and shows are ‘selling out left right and centre.’
‘We’ve been trying to upgrade venues, add shows, it’s been mental, I can’t even tell you how crazy it is. It’s really surpassed my expectations.’
‘It’s gonna be so good to come back. I wish I could add so many more dates to that tour, but if we added all the dates of the places we wanted to go we’d be away all year.’
The stars are preparing to return to their native Western Australia to a bit of a hero’s welcome, even the Premier sending out messages of congratulations, with Danny joking: ‘When the politicians are getting on board trying to claim us as theirs, we’ve done something right.’
Fearless In Love is out 14th July; preorder .
