Say what you like about the former Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian – and many have – but the man is a grafter.
A fortnight after he was announced as Australia’s first (and possibly last) entry to the Eurovision song contest, Sebastian has debuted the song he will take to Vienna in May, a nu-soul track entitled Tonight Again.
The singer is said to have written the track, described as having a “contemporary R&B style bursting with hooks, beats and celebratory lyrics”, in less than a week. Previously it was rumoured Sebastian would sing an unreleased song from his eighth studio album, Madness.
“I thought since I had a couple of days off in Australia I would try and write something new,” said Sebastian. “But if I was to record a new song I wanted it to be home-grown and organic with my band in my studio.”
The lyrics of Tonight Again appear to speak of the challenges ahead. “Everyone’s got their problems,” opens Sebastian, clearly conscious of Eurovision’s tactical voting issues. “There’s always something on your mind.” Will the Finns front up another winning novelty act? “But tonight we ain’t gotta solve them.” Focus, Guy. “For tonight let’s leave them all behind.”
After a rousing bridge, (“Oh, do what you, what you, what you want...” and repeat), Sebastian hits the chorus:
I don’t want tomorrow,
Oh baby, tonight’s so good
Tonight’s so good.
This is one tough act to follow.
Oh baby, tonight’s so good.
Forget tomorrow – we can do tonight again.
Not quite true of the grand final, of course, but a positive mental attitude nonetheless.
“I am sure that is how I am going to feel when I am in Vienna performing,” said Sebastian. “We all have moments you don’t want to end and you wish you could live those moments every day, so I wanted to write a song about that feeling.”
Paul Clarke, head of Australia’s delegation and director at producing partners Blink TV, said of the track: “He has come up with a cracker, a 12th-hour gem. It has a great soul feel that is so infectious.”
Sebastian was initially planning to write a power ballad, revealed Clarke, “but this new song is a celebration of the grand final night and our participation, and we couldn’t be more excited about it”.
What do you make of Sebastian’s song? Share your thoughts in the comments below
The critic’s take
Clem Bastow: Being firmly of the opinion that the best Australian Eurovision-related moment ever was Gina G’s Ooh Ahh ... Just A Little Bit, it’s safe to say my expectations have been extremely high for the country’s newest Eurovision anthem ever since it was announced we’d be permitted to join the party in 2015.
Guy Sebastian, newly minted Aussie Eurovision entrant, has delivered his goods: premiering a song, Tonight Again, that apparently “came together in less than 48 hours”, and will fly the flag for Australia, noted member of the European Union.
Reviewing Sebastian’s Madness less than favourably has made me public enemy #1 among the Sebastianites, so I need to tread carefully lest I unleash another torrent of feedback, but, boy, this song says “non-winner” to me.
This is primarily down to the arrangement, which feels dated and strangely thin; it’s possible it could soar with a really meaty live brass arrangement, but then, what’s our budget for Eurovision? Will Joe Hockey put aside $35,000 or so to fly Saskwatch over to back up Sebastian on the night? That’s what I call a real budget emergency!
Let’s compare Tonight Again to a similar nu-soul-revival track, Jessica Mauboy’s Can I Get A Moment. Mauboy’s voice is such a belter it offsets the over-processed brass; Sebastian’s, on the other hand, has always sat in the pocket of a slightly strained high range that gives the whole song a bit of a tinny feel.
I’ll freely admit I’m not a Eurovision scholar, but Tonight Again feels underdone as a party anthem – and given Sebastian’s proud history of tear-jerking power balladry, why didn’t we send him over there with a 10-tonne weepie written by Ross Wilson and accompanied by the Australian Children’s Choir?
Beyond Sebastian or his song, it’s tough to shake the feeling we could have played this so much cooler. With Australia’s storied history of rock and metal, and in light of Lordi’s Eurovision triumph, why didn’t we decide to send Barbarion over in all their flash-pot glory?
I’m prepared to eat my words when the big night rolls around, but let’s be real: he could at least have injected a few dozen more key-changes.
