Among the many great things about being part of the Eurovision fan community, attending the international finals, going to preview parties and catching the odd national final somewhere in Europe every now and then is the chance to get behind the scenes. We cannot count how many fabulous moments we have shared over the years, jumping with joy on the dance floor at Euroclub, wailing along to schlagers, taking a selfie with Francesco’s gorilla and whatnot. We also get to hang out with some of the artists and we’ve met quite a few genuinely nice and interesting people, working both on and off stage as part of the different delegations.
In Stockholm two years ago we got acquainted with Poli Genova’s backing singers, they were literally everywhere, singing their hearts out and grooving along to Bulgaria’s smash hit. One of them, Cesár Sampson, who also did backing vocals for Kristian Kostov last year, will represent Austria in Lisbon and we warmly welcome him into the limelight.
He’s not the kind of bloke you hide in the background for too long, he has the looks, the voice to go with it, and he has been gifted a pretty decent song from the super team behind the aforementioned last couple of Bulgarian entries. Nobody But You isn’t exactly groundbreakingly modern; it rather has a nice retro sound and it’s deliciously produced. The chorus has been velcroed to our brains since the first run through and we genuinely enjoy watching Cesár bask through the snow in the preview video. It makes us wanna snuggle up with him in front of the fireplace in a cozy cabin in Tyrol with hot cocoa and melted marshmallows. Oh, snap, we’ll settle for a nice glass of vinho verde at a pavement café in Lisbon too!
We expect great things from his live performance and we are rooting for him to do well. We’ve seen former backing singers struggle before, like poor IMRI last year. But Cesár’s soothing voice and calm character will most likely help him pull through and give Austria another slot in the Grand Final.
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