Just this morning, in the Ö3-Wecker-Talk radio show, Pænda was confirmed to be broadcaster ÖRF’s choice to represent Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019!

Barely containing her excitement she says:

When I was watching the Eurovision Song Contest on ORF in the past few years, I knew that if the opportunity presented itself, I would very much like to become part of it and compete for Austria. Music becomes a universal language, boundaries dissolve and it is shown that love is colorful, diverse and can not be classified in any drawer. The contest is a bridge builder that manages to unite different cultures and religions for a while. Now I’m allowed to sing for Austria and I am overwhelmed. It really means a lot to me to be part of this message to the world.

She is a, underlined by ÖRF themselves as well: a versatile woman who composes and produces her songs herself! She started writing her first songs at 14 years old and released her first album in 2018, called Evolution I (Evolution II will follow in April this year).

You might wonder why Gabriela Horn’s stage name is Pænda?
That is, according to herself, because when she wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror, she looks exactly like a panda bear!

To hear what she’s like as an artist, you could listen to ‘Paper-thin’ from last year’s debut album Evolution I:

Her Eurovision song is called ‘Limits’ and will be ”an atmospherically charged electropop ballad”.

Recently, Austria have been quite successful at the Eurovision Song Contest, being present in the final for the 5th year running, winning in 2014 with Conchita Wurst and winning the jury vote in 2018 while coming 3rd overall with Cesár Sampson and ‘Nobody But You’:

‘Limits’ will be released somewhere in February.

Do you think Pænda fits well into that list of Austrian successes?
Let us know in the comments below!