Courtney Act releases song in Eurovision 2019 bid to represent Australia
Courtney Act has thrown her hat in the ring to represent Australia at Eurovision 2019, releasing a new song titled “Fight for Love.”
The RuPaul’s Drag Race finalist has had a momentous year. She won ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother, hosted the UK’s first-ever bisexual dating show The Bi Life and is headlining Channel 4’s Christmas show Courtney Act’s Christmas Extravaganza on December 24—and she’s not planning on stopping in 2019.
Her bid for Eurovision 2019 will take her back to her native Australia, where she is due to appear on Eurovision—Australia Decides on February 9 to convince the country she is the best choice to win the Eurovision Song Contest.
Courtney Act—the stage name of performer Shane Janek—is not new to singing competitions.
“There are no rules when you’re a drag queen.”
— Courtney Act
She performed on the first season of Australian Idol in 2003. She is now looking forward to showing Australia how far she’s come since then.
“A sweet 16 years after Australian Idol, I have the chance to show Australia how I have grown as an artist and performer and I am so excited! To compete to represent Oz in Eurovision is second only to being on that stage in Tel Aviv and singing my lungs out for my country,” she said in a statement.
Courtney Act calls her Eurovision 2019 song a “dancefloor banger” with a message
Courtney Act described her single “Fight For Love” as an anthem for equality.
She said: “‘Fight For Love’ is a dancefloor banger all about coming together and fighting for the things we believe in. I think it’s so important to think about the basic human rights of others and to use our collective voices, minds and bodies to lift those people up and bring about change.”
“Eurovision is a pop competition but there’s no reason you can’t slip in a little message, you know?” she told Australian channel SBS.
“The performance aspect really excites me. And I always think, like, as a drag performer, I’ve just got a little extra up my sleeve—and somewhere else. There are no rules when you’re a drag queen,” she added.
Two other performers stand in the way of Courtney taking the Eurovision 2019 stage: Aydan Calafiore, a finalist on this year’s The Voice Australia, and Leea Nanos, the 16-year-old wild card entry, who is a singer-songwriter.
Courtney Act’s “Fight for Love” is already winning praise from her fans on YouTube.
“If this song is not chosen to represent Australia at the Eurovision I’m gonna kill someone!” one particularly passionate listener wrote in the comments.