Australia’s Guy Sebastian has spoken candidly about his participation at the 60th Eurovision Song Contest.

The 33-year-old, who will perform Tonight again at the Vienna 2015 extravaganza, shared his thoughts with the Sydney Morning Herald minutes after performing at a Eurovision event last weekend.

When I was announced [as Australia’s representative in March] there were mixed feelings … it made me evaluate my role in it.

Confessing to moments of self-doubt, he continues:

I [also] thought ‘Am I strange enough? I’ve learned to concentrate on what I am and not what I am not. I feel confident in my vocal ability and my ability to write a good song [Tonight again], which we [Guy Sebastian, with David Ryan Harris and Louis Schoorl] did in three days.

Guy Sebastian is Australia’s first ever Eurovision Song Contest entrant, and the former Australian Idol champion speaks encouragingly about this year’s show:

People are excited about the quality of acts this year … they love the kitsch value of it but I think [organisers] are excited so many good singers [are] raising the quality and taking it so seriously, that’s the general vibe I’m getting.

Guy performed three songs at the Eurovision event, including Tonight again:

Tonight went really well. The crowd seemed to know the song, it was a great feeling … they knew “Battle scars” [a past hit] too.

I didn’t know what to expect to be honest, this is a bit of an anomaly for me. At first I had a bit of anxiety [there is a] that spirit of competition and ambition in the air … It took me back a bit, rewound the clock. I haven’t been in that sort of environment for a long time.

Now I’ve done [the pre-Eurovision parties] I don’t think this is a good platform for someone who is … up-and-coming or has no experience. It’s pretty daunting … back in the day I was green … I wasn’t exposed to as many high pressure gigs … [Since then] I’ve done Letterman, [Jimmy] Fallon, Oprah. 

I can see why SBS thought it was safe to have me perform and not risk it.

Read the full article here on the smh.com.au website.

Guy, who met last year’s Eurovision victor Conchita Wurst at this weekend’s event, has also recently appeared on TV in the Netherlands and Germany as he prepares for Vienna. Read an introduction to Guy Sebastian with us as esctoday.com.

Australia will feature at the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time which this year takes place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria on 19, 21 and 23 May. Guy Sebastian was chosen to represent Australia via an internal selection procedure, and has been granted a wild card straight to the Grand Final on Saturday 23 May. Broadcaster SBS will air both semi-finals (on 19 and 21 May) and the Grand Final, and Australia can vote on all three shows.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for all the latest news on Guy Sebastian, Australia and the Eurovision Song Contest 2015!