Austria: Vincent Bueno to Rotterdam!

by Stratos Agadellis 1,400 views

The Austrians have decided! Many rumours have been making the rounds for several weeks now, but now we can officially announce the artist that will fly their flag in Rotterdam next May: it’s Vincent Bueno with the song Alive!

ORF, the Austrian national broadcaster kept up the tradition of the last few years and went internal in order to pick their upcoming Eurovision entrant. Following a female presence, that of PÆNDA in Tel Aviv a few months ago, the broadcaster opted for a successful male artist to take to the stage of our favourite competition.

Vincent Bueno, Photo credit: ORF

Who is Vincent Bueno?

Born in Vienna to Philipino parents, the 34-year-old singer rose to fame when he won Musical! Die Show back in 2008. After his graduation from the Vienna Conservatory of Music, he has taken part in numerous musical and theatrical shows and has released 3 studio albums: Step by step in 2008, Wieder Leben in 2016 and Invincible in 2018.

Although Vincent Bueno has never again participated as a lead artist in Eurovision, he has already been involved with the contest; once in 2016, when he participated in Austria’s national final with the song All we need is love and then one year later, when he served as a backing vocalist for Nathan Trent, who represented their country in Kiev and finished in 16th position.

Besides the singer’s name, we already know his song title, which sounds quite optimistic: Vincent will sing the up-tempo sound Alive in Rotterdam. However, we’ll have to wait until March in order to listen to it. Obviously excited about the Eurovision project, Vincent Bueno states:

Wow, even thinking about the fact that I am going to participate in the song contest gives me goosebumps! Eurovision is like the Eurocup for musicians and singers. That big stage, all the artists who do their best, all songwriters and producers of Europe who gather in one place to celebrate their work, while at the same time getting into the ring with them is breathtaking and formidable. Let’s go Austria!

What he has to say about Alive, is:

From the moment I let go of the fast-paced confirmation of social media and its pressures to be something specific, I reconnected with my identity. That makes me feel alive!

While ORF seems to have a great deal of confidence in him, something they express through their programme director, Kathrin Zechner:

Vincent Bueno is not only a singer and songwriter, but a performer who takes every stage with his passion. He exudes incredible energy that will sweep Europe away in May; that makes him the ideal artist for Rotterdam!

Source: ORF

Austria at Eurovision 2019

The country of Central Europe was represented in 2019 by the electropop singer-songwriter PÆNDA, who performed her self-penned song Limits on the stage in Tel Aviv. Despite an extraordinary performance, she was eliminated in the second semi-final, where she finished 17th with 21 points.

After 2013, this was the first time for Austria not to progress to the final.

Are you happy about Austria’s choice?
How high could Vincent reach on the scoreboard in May?