ESC Etc.

Country: Australia
Artist: Electric Fields
Title: One Milkali (One Love)
Songwriter(s): Michael Ross, Zaachariaha Fielding
Tempo: 110 BPM Mode: Minor Key: C Duration: 2:27

When I think about Electric Fields and ESC, there’s an overwhelming sense of unifinished business. This goes all the way back to 2019, when the duo entered Australia Decides with 2000 and Whatever, one of the best songs of the year or arguably the decade and not just at Eurovision, immediately becoming the runaway favorites to win the competition only to be denied by the bendy pole stylings of Kate Miller-Heidke (who, to be clear, remains one the best acts and staging packages ever at Eurovision and yes, I will die on that hill). Not one year has gone by since in which the fandom didn’t collectively try to manifest their comeback to ESC – especially after Australia dumped their national final in favor of an internal selection that seeemed to pool together returning acts every year. It took 5 years…but here we are!

And it’s all just a bit disappointing. To be clear – this is a solid, fun, dynamic track that fuses English with Western Desert language dialects, marking the first time we’ve gotten this mix on stage at ESC. Zaachariaha is a phenomenal performer and their voice cuts right through the melody, and there are some nice production flourishes that dress up the track in a modern electronica vibe. That said, this inevitably suffers from the comparison to their 2019 offering and the standard that track had – perhaps unfairly – set for them. The hook is less obvious, the production hits just a bit less and feels somewhat disjointed, giving the whole song a slightly scattered feel, and the lyrics about coming together – one love, one universe. etc – read a bit on the generic side, even if the code switching gives the track a more authentic feel. As much as it feels like a gift to finally have them at ESC, I wish it was with something that was just a bit more special, because they absolutely have it in them.

Jury Potential: While the vocal talent involved here should score this some points, the lack of radio appeal is a bit of a concern. This year’s got a few clear jury faves that will probably monopolize that whole portion of the scoring, making it a bit hard for the outliers.
Televote Potential: This is a fairly televote-friendly act that will need really meaningful and impactful staging to qualify out of semi 1, which is already pretty stacked with heavy hitters.