Last weekend on the Gold Coast, Australia voted for its Eurovision 2020 Contender. In its second year running, the Gold Coast hosted Eurovision 2020: Australia Decides live on SBS. The results ended up being neck and neck between Montaigne and Casey Donovan – but in the end, no one could stop Montaigne with her song “Don’t Break Me”.
So, who is the young indie pop Aussie who will be going all the way to the Netherlands to compete in Eurovision 2020?
- She’s a Sydney-side rising star. Montaigne rose to fame through Triple J Unearthed before she had even graduated high school. At only 24 years old she has released an EP, two studio albums, featured on tracks by The Hilltop Hoods and The Bamboos, and can boast an ARIA Music Award under her belt.
- She’s a philosopher. In late 2013, Jessica Alyssa Cerro, decided to perform under the pseudonym Montaigne. Montaigne was a renaissance philosopher famous for his contribution to the developing theories of Humanism and Skepticism. You’ll notice many of her stage costumes feature Elizabethan ruffles or cravats as a nod to the famous thinker. But she doesn’t take things too seriously either. After her Eurovision 2020 Australia Decides performance, she proudly told live hosts Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey, that her blue hair was inspired by the Pokémon Mr. Mime.
- We here at the AU Review have loved Montaigne for a long time! The team at AU Review have following her journey as early as 2014. Check out one of our favourite interviews we did with her about Glorious Heights.
- Her stage performance of “Don’t Break Me” is going to be MESMERISING. If history is anything to go by, the performance will be an amplified version of their original staging. Will there be pyrotechnics? Maybe. A wind machine? We certainly hope so. Regardless, Montaigne doesn’t only sing but she can move. It’ll be a powerful and electric performance we can be sure of that.
Montaigne sounds just as excited as all of us. When accepting that she had won, and was going to represent Australia she ecstatically said, “This is wild! I started out just grateful to be a part of Eurovision but this is fricken insane! Thank you to everyone who gave me their vote, I’m so excited to go to Rotterdam and give it a red hot go!”.
It’s time to start prepping your Eurovision Party, readers.
