Representing Austria at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest is singer Kaleen. The 29-year-old will be performing English-language song We Will Rave in the Grand Final of the contest at Malmo Arena, in Sweden, on Saturday night.
It is exactly 10 years since Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest for Austria back in 2014 and Kaleen, whose full name is Marie-Sophie Kreissl, is hoping to replicate their success.
Kaleen was an award-winning ballet dancer as a child and took part in the German version of the dance competition Got to Dance in 2014 where she reached the final. Musically she cites her influences as Dua Lipa, Little Mix, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé and Zara Larsson.
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She released her first self-produced single in 2021, and since then she’s put out a further three tracks.
This year's competition will not be the first Eurovision Kaleen has been involved in and since 2018 has been a stand-in singer during rehearsals. She was also a dancer and choreographer for the interval acts in that year's contest.
Kaleen was the creative director for Spain and overall stage director in the 2022 contest and helped create the stage performances for Austria, Armenia, Germany, and Georgia in the 2023 contest.
She was announced as Austria's entry for this year's contest with the song, We Will Rave, in January. The techno-inspired pop track is written by Anderz Wrethov, Jimmy Thörnfeldt, Julie Aagaard, and Thomas Stengaard.
Speaking ahead of the contest Kaleen told the official Eurovision podcast: "I'm just feeling so much positivity and I’m so proud of this thing for me because it’s such a huge dream of mine coming true, and feeling that so many people can feel something while listening to the song or also watching the music video, I couldn’t have imagined it in a better way.”
Austria's odds of winning the contest were 150/1 ahead of the show, according to bookies Ladbrokes.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 final takes place on Saturday, May 11. It will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer with Graham Norton hosting and commentating for UK viewers.
On BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds, Scott Mills and Rylan will be leading the commentary. Coverage across the BBC will start at 8pm.
The lyrics for We Will Rave
Ice running through my veins
You just did it again
Go cause I can’t be your friend
I’m cold but this is not the end
So I go go go
Where the broken hearted go
No one knows a thing about my haunted soul
I go oh oh
Wanna dance it off alone
I won't let it show
They will never know
When the darkness hits and we can’t be saved
We rum de dum dum da – We Will Rave
When our hearts are burning we feel no pain
We rum de dum dum da – We Will Rave
I see only silhouettes
I just wanna forget
About everything we said
And the demons in my head
So I go go go
Where the broken hearted go
No one knows a thing about my haunted soul
I go oh oh
Wanna dance it off alone
I won't let it show
They will never know
When the darkness hits and we can’t be saved
We rum de dum dum da – We Will Rave
When our hearts are burning we feel no pain
We rum de dum dum da – We Will Rave
