It would seem that Austria is very close to ending its internal seclection for the 2022 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest! The Kleine Zeitung and ESC-Kompakt are reporting that Austrian broadcaster ORF has narrowed its choice down to two artists – both DJ LUM!X and the duo ANGER have made ORF’s shortlist. Reports say that the final decision could come as early as next week!
This leaves DJ LUM!X’s song “Halo”, which is said to be a danceable DJ track with “early 1990s flair”, and the German-language indie number “Das Meer” by ANGER, in the running to head to Turin in May.
ANGER
ANGER is a duo from Vienna comprised of Nora Pider and Julian Angerer. The two have known each other since they were teenagers when they lived in Italy’s South Tyrol region. After a rather dreamy EP, they are now louder and more self-confident with the release of their first album Heart/Break.
It’s clear that Pider and Angerer are pop lovers. They use pop in all its forms. Eurovision could just be their big break into show business, despite some early success already, having won Austrian Radio’s FM4 Award in 2020.
DJ LUM!X
DJ LUM!X is the stage name of Luca Michlmayer, a name he created from his initials and the letter X. He created the name “[s]o I not only have a personal connection but also the word ‘Mix’ in it, which fits perfectly with the DJ theme.”
For a 20-year-old, he has already achieved a lot of success. With his song “Monster” he achieved gold certification in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The track has over 200 million streams on Spotify! His other releases “Thunder” and “The Passenger (LaLaLa)” are also well over 100 million streams.
Michlmayer describes his music as “very energetic and bass-heavy, but also melodic and memorable.” He tries to bring a lot of life and power into the music via vocal chops and harmonic instruments.
Austria at Eurovision
Since 2017, Austria has chosen internal selections by a panel of experts led by radio DJ Eberhard Forcher. This system has given Austria a mixed bag of results. While Nathan Trent qualified for the Final and finished in 16th place overall in 2017, he received 0 points from the televote. In 2018, Cesár Sampson came in 3rd place and won the jury vote! Austria’s 2019 and 2021 artists (Pænda and Vincent Bueno) both failed to qualify to the Grand Final.
Would you rather see ANGER or DJ LUM!X head to Turin for Austria? What chances do you think they might have to qualify for the Grand Final? Let us know below or on our social media!
