After the songs submission window closed and the filtering process began, it was reported that eight songs remained in the selection process to represent Austria at Eurovision 2025 in Basel.

Austria announced in July that it would choose its representative for Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, through an internal selection, as it has done every year since 2017. This decision came after a call for artists to submit songs. Now that the submission window has closed, and the Austrian national broadcaster ORF has begun filtering candidates, it has been reported that only eight songs remain in the selection process to represent the country in the competition.

Seeking Authentic and Emotional Entries from All Genres

Peter Schreiber, who collaborates with the Austrian national broadcaster ORF, posted on Instagram encouraging musicians to submit their applications. He emphasized that the selection committee is looking for musicians from all genres, with a special focus on proposals that contain something exciting, unusual, moving, original and authentic. ORF’s program director, Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz, said she is looking for something “sharp” for next year’s performance, adding that she could imagine a song “with a bit of local dialect.”

Expert Panel and Selection Criteria for Eurovision 2025

It was also reported in July that Eberhard Forcher would again serve as an advisor along with Schreiber for the Austrian national broadcaster, alongside Cesár Sampson, Austria’s representative and third-place winner at Eurovision 2018, who will serve as an additional advisor. Among other things, Austria’s internal selection process includes several stages, including the opinions of audience representatives and experts in the field of music and Eurovision.

It’s important to note that there are several fixed rules that candidates must adhere to:

• The Eurovision song cannot be performed live or published before September 1, 2024.
• The song must not exceed 3 minutes in length.
• The song must be original and not contain samples (excerpts from other songs).

Austria in Eurovision 2024

Austria was represented by Kaleen with the song “We Will Rave”. She performed in the second semi-final, qualifying to the grand final, where she closed the show and finished in 24th place with 24 points.

Source: eurovision-quotidien