Why Paulini wants to make an impact at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest

Since 2015, six singers have had the privilege of representing Australia on the world stage at the iconic Eurovision Song Contest: Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, Isaiah Firebrace, Jessica Mauboy, Kate Miller-Heidke and Montaigne.

11 Australian artists are now set to compete in Eurovision - Australia Decides in the hopes of being selected by public vote to be the country’s official entry for 2022 - including vocal powerhouse Paulini.

Chatting with Yahoo Lifestyle ahead of the event, the singer-songwriter admits she is still pinching herself at the fact that she was even chosen for a spot in the competition.

“It’s such a blessing to be selected, but it would be such a massive honour to represent Australia,” she says. “This is totally different from anything else that I've ever done, so I'm pumped for it. I'm bringing my A-game to this performance.”

Paulini rose to fame on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003 where she came in fourth place, before going on to establish herself as a successful recording artist and musical theatre actress.

RELATED:

• Paulini wants to be a judge on the Australian Idol reboot: 'Bring it on!'

• Why Dami Im wanted to change the world’s expectations of her after X Factor

• Isaiah Firebrace says he was ‘worked to the bone’ after X Factor win

While she’s had her fair share of experiences in a TV competition, appearing on both The Masked Singer and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in recent years, the Angel Eyes hitmaker says she’s keen to take on “the Olympics of talent quests”.

“I was shocked when I got that phone call from my manager to be a part of Australia Decides, it’s just something that I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be doing,” she reflects.

“After I put the phone down I was like, you know what? I can actually do this. Bring it on!”

'An epic song'

Born in Fiji, Paulini believes it would be a privilege to represent Australia and have the opportunity to showcase the country’s diversity at Eurovision.

“I remember growing up there weren’t a lot of different faces on TV,” she details. “So for me, the thing that I love about going to Eurovision and performing and representing Australia is that it shows the world that we're so multicultural.”

Her entry, We Are One, is an anthemic dance hit with a strong message echoing Paulini’s sentiments about acceptance and unity.

Although the song was sent to her for the competition, she ended up changing some of the lyrics and reworking the track to make it “as current, as pop, as Eurovision and as camp as it could be”.

“We wanted it to have a strong message but also a fun song, an epic song, something that everyone could kind of bop to and enjoy,” she describes. “But the main thing for me is that I really want to get on that stage and tell a story.

“The song also has elements of my musical journey too, like I made sure that it felt like a gospel choir behind the chorus. It's got elements of everything and I really hope that the message gets out there, and with the message, you can have a bit of a boogie at the same time.”

'A strong performance'

Speaking about the actual performance of the song, which will make its official debut in the Gold Coast this coming weekend, Paulini teases a “big, epic” show that’s going to impact.

“I don't want to give away too much, but it's going to be a strong performance,” she hints.

“It's going to represent the different cultures and everyone coming together. Whatever country you come from, at the end of the day we're all one person, we bleed the same.

“For me, it’s really important that I get that message out there, but also that it represents every person and how diverse this country is and at the end of the day, we are one.”

Tune into SBS on 26 February at 8.30pm AEDT to see Eurovision – Australia Decides and cast your vote. Australia’s 2022 Eurovision artist will be revealed during the show.

Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.

Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.