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Perth synth-metal quintet will voyage to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest to represent Australia in Liverpool

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The vibrant quintet choreographs an intricate dance between metal and pop; employ a keytar on stage, and bring forward a positive, uplifting feeling to their music, running head-first into the endless parade of heavy bands who see the world in a different light. Voyager ’s latest album Colours in the Sun exploded like a supernova onto the worldwide stage with their vivid, uplifting, and exhilarating music and live performance, capturing the excitement of existing fans and the intrigue of new ones from all around the world. Frontman Danny Estrin, a long-time Eurovision fanatic is not only an award-winning, multilingual lawyer by day, he also moonlights as a renowned and respected musician. Danny’s signature dose of ‘80s influenced vocals and hook-laden keytar lines over the top of genre-transfiguring, ultra-modern and prismatic hard rock has travelled the world many times over.

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Voyager on representing Australia at Eurovision 2023: “It’s about taking what we do and making it bigger than ourselves”

After eight years of campaigning, the Perth alt-metal outfit will finally take on the world at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. NME speaks to guitarist Scott Kay and bassist Alex Canion about what it means for the band – and Australia’s heavy music scene at large

I t’s been a long road to Eurovision for Perth alt-metal outfit Voyager , who will represent Australia at this year’s edition of the global song contest. For 24 years, the quintet have been devoted to celebrating their whimsical, colourful and theatrical sides. Even when performing their heaviest and most brooding numbers, they embrace the flashiness of classic glam-rock, frontman Danny Estrin embracing an entrancing showiness while guitarists Scott Kay and Simone Dow jump and flex Dance Dance Revolution moves as they shred to their hearts’ content.

It was around the early 2010s that concertgoers started suggesting the band try for Eurovision . “We were playing these shows all around the world,” bassist Alex Canion tells NME , “and pretty much anywhere we went, people would go, ‘‘Why aren’t Voyager doing Eurovision? You guys would be great!’ It was this groundswell from the fans that really put the idea in our minds. And when we sat down and really thought about it, we were just like ‘…Yeah, we should do Eurovision!’”

Canion continues: “The most common feedback we get is that we look like we’re having fun onstage – which we’ve found, over the years, translates into the crowd themselves having fun. And that’s exactly what Eurovision is about, you know?”

“We built a lot of relationships in the spirit of music – it was like our shared dreams just prevailed in the face of competition”

Voyager first made their push to compete at Eurovision in 2015, with a social campaign launched on the back of the proggy and experimental ‘Hyperventilating’. Their mainstream support was limited then, but that only fuelled the band’s determination, working harder and refining their artistry with each subsequent attempt. They came close last year, coming in second place to Sheldon Riley – winning the public vote with the prog metal bop ‘Dreamer’ , but losing at the judging panel by just three points – in SBS’ televised Australia Decides contest (a mini-Eurovision of its own where artists compete for the chance to represent Australia at the main event; it was not held this year and Voyager clinched the spot without a public vote).

Most would assume Voyager would walk away feeling crushed: seven years spent slogging it out for this incredible opportunity, just to have it snatched away at the last second. But Canion stresses that Voyager’s optimism simply could not be frayed.

“We just felt energised,” he says. “Maybe from the outside, it’s understandable that we would be quite bitter about it. But we were like, ‘Wow, we’ve just played this amazing gig for tens of thousands of people across the nation…’ We were so happy just to be there.”

That positivity was palpable across all of the contestants, Canion adds: “I guess people would expect there to be some ill will between us all, but hand on heart, truthfully, everyone was so lovely. Knowing what we know about Sheldon, we were really happy for him, and we were really happy to have gotten to know him – and Jaguar Jonze , and Andrew Lambrou [who is representing Cyprus this year], and Evie Irie… We built a lot of relationships in the spirit of music – it was like our shared dreams just prevailed in the face of competition.”

Ultimately, the experience galvanised Voyager’s optimism about heavy music in Australia. “We went into it thinking the public would be so hard to win over,” Kay says, “but the fact that everyone was so onboard, I think it speaks to just how strong this scene is. Metal is very much overlooked by the mainstream media, but you know, here we are playing ‘Dreamer’ – not the heaviest metal song on the planet, but certainly still a metal song – and it’s being lapped right up! I think it speaks volumes about the kind of heavy music culture we have here in Australia.”

By competing in Eurovision itself this year, the band hope to propel Australia’s heavy music culture into the global zeitgeist. “It’s not just about the identity of Voyager as a band,” Kay declares, “it’s about taking what we do and making it bigger than ourselves. Because a lot of bands coming out of Australia – especially heavy bands – have to pave their own path and really slog it out on the touring circuit just to get noticed.

“But Eurovision is the kind of thing you can do and come out of with a completely new fanbase – and the people that tune in, if they’re into more obscure types of music, hopefully they’ll see us and then check out all the other amazing talent we have in Australia.”

F or this year’s big event – taking place May 9-13 in Liverpool – Voyager will compete with ‘Promise’, a kaleidoscopic synth-pop belter tinged with the band’s classic prog flavours. It bursts to life in the chorus, the whole band delivering their “ oh-oh ”s with zest atop the soaring keys and crunchy riff – but after the second go around, the mood flips and we’re suddenly pummelled by a fierce, endorphin-surging breakdown. Throw in a guitar solo and climactic vocal harmony and you’ve got the ultimate Voyager song: a Floydian trip of ultra-saturated primary colours and heart-stopping energy.

According to Kay, the song went through “ a lot of iterating”, the band “crafting it meticulously” specifically for Eurovision. “Danny came in with that synth backing and the opening line, ‘ Have you ever done anything like this before? ’ And I think we all heard it and thought to ourselves, ‘No, we haven’t done anything like this before!’ I think that really enticed us to experiment with it. So we started with that intro and kept adding all these different concepts to it – just throwing every wild idea we had into the pot – and then spent months just refining it all and narrowing it down into this three-minute epic.”

“If there are Eurovision viewers into more obscure types of music, hopefully they’ll see us and then check out all the other amazing talent we have in Australia”

Perfecting a song “custom-built” for the biggest stage in the world, Canion says, was “such a great songwriting exercise”. “It was like, ‘We’ve got a brief, and we need to stick to it. We can’t fall in love with parts like we normally would – we need to trim all the fat, and we need to really consider what’s essential to this song.’ And that happened right up until we were done with it, even in the studio – even my bass parts changed the day after I filmed the playthrough for them.”

‘Promise’ won’t feature on Voyager’s upcoming eighth album (which they recently finished recording, and plan to announce immediately after Eurovision), but it did greatly influence the record. “In terms of the craftsmanship, we’ve paid more attention to detail than we ever had before,” Kay explains. “People can expect a much more focused record, where all that fat has been trimmed and you’re really just getting all the big payoffs, hitting you with the strongest force possible.”

“Also,” Canion interjects slyly, “for everyone saying we’re not heavy enough anymore – yeah, don’t worry, the album will address that…”

Eurovision begins May 9, with the grand final on May 14. Catch Voyager in the semi-final which broadcasts live on SBS and SBS On Demand on Friday May 12 at 5am AEST (with a primetime broadcast at 7.30pm). Vote for Voyager here

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Who are metal band Voyager? Australia’s Eurovision entry set to rock the contest

Australia has a short but impactful history in Eurovision , and its 2023 entry looks set to be among its most memorable.

Metal band Voyager have been trying to get a place on the show since before Australia was even competing, so when Europe was extended to a land down under for the show in 2015, they were keen to join the fun.

Bass player Alex Cainon told the NME : “The most common feedback we get is that we look like we’re having fun onstage – which we’ve found, over the years, translates into the crowd themselves having fun. And that’s exactly what Eurovision is about, you know?”

Voyager formed in 1999 in the Western Australian city of Perth - a place other Aussies will tell you is in “woop woop” (a million miles from anywhere). And perhaps as geographical outsiders they have had what it takes to form a cult following which has seen them release eight albums - most recently Fearless in Love this year.

There is a huge Eurovision following in Australia and the country was set to compete only once in 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary, but has returned every year since - although it has yet to win. While it is not unheard of for a metal band to win the competition (remember Lordi in 2006?) Voyager are considered outsiders for this year’s competition which begins, for them, on Thursday, May 11 with the second semi-final.

But winning is not everything and the band are instead hoping to put Australian metal onto the global stage.

“Eurovision is the kind of thing you can do and come out of with a completely new fanbase,” guitarist Scott Kay told NME .

“If they’re into more obscure types of music, hopefully they’ll see us and then check out all the other amazing talent we have in Australia.”

Voyager will enter the 2023 competition with their song Promise which they hope will provide a solid entry point for fans. The band have crossed the boundary and are now in the host city of Liverpool hoping to make the final which will be on Saturday.

To find out more about Eurovision 2023 click here .

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Perth band Voyager to represent Australia at Eurovision 2023 with synth-metal anthem Promise

Persistence pays off for WA quintet, who have had their sights set on song contest since 2015

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A synth-metal band performing a song that takes listeners on an “anthemic rock voyage” will represent Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest.

Voyager, a quintet from Perth , will take their song Promise to the international music competition in Liverpool, becoming the first group to represent Australia.

“We filmed the music video in both the city of Perth and beautiful parts of Western Australia to showcase the majestic beauty of our home state,” their lead singer, Danny Estrin said in a statement. “Eurovisionation, we are coming!!!”

Promise is a pop number that bends the genre with trademark riffs, climactic guitars and keytar solos. The song opens with Estrin belting out the lyric: “Have you ever done anything like this before?” The singer thinks it’s fitting given the occasion.

“[Promise] is made for the Eurovision stage and collectively we feel it’s one of our best yet.”

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And the director of Blink TV, Paul Clarke, trusts the song will “deliver in spades”: “From the very first listen I knew it was something special – an epic, cinematic track that will take listeners on an anthemic rock voyage all the way to the Eurovision stage.”

Voyager have had their sights set on Eurovision since Australia first took part in 2015. The band’s route to represent the country has been a long one, submitting songs every year. They were shortlisted in 2020 but did not make the final 11 in Eurovision – Australia Decides .

Last year they came close, leading in the public vote for song Dreamer but placing second on the combined score to Sheldon Riley performing Not the Same. Riley made it to the final in Italy and placed 15th.

This time around they have been selected without a public vote.

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“Voyager have been determined to get centre stage for the biggest song contest in the world and SBS knows they will bring that grit with them along with a whole lot of fun,” said the broadcaster’s head of entertainment, Emily Griggs.

The UK will host Eurovision at Liverpool Arena in May on behalf of last year’s winner Ukraine, as war with Russia has hindered their ability to host.

Australia will appear in the second semi-final on 12 May alongside Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Romania, Austria, Denmark, Lithuania, San Marino, Belgium, Slovenia, Iceland, Georgia, Greece, Poland and Estonia.

From there, the countries voted into the top 10 will perform at the final on 14 May.

The closest Australia has been to winning Eurovision came in 2016, when Dami Im placed second for her performance of Sound of Silence.

“I can’t wait to see Eurovision fans the world over embrace [Voyager] as much as Aussie crowds have,” Griggs said. “Look out, Europe, the Aussies are coming!”

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Voyager’s Danny Estrin to announce Australia’s votes at Eurovision

2023 participant and lead singer of voyager will deliver douze points on sunday..

• Published by David Knox
• on May 10, 2024
• Filed under Eurovision , News

Voyager front man, Danny Estrin, will deliver the scores on behalf of Australia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden.

Danny Estrin said: “Being asked to shout the douze points for Australia is yet another pinnacle of my whole Eurovision experience. I won’t try to out-sartorialise Lee Lin Chin, but I’ll be sure to glitz and glam for these iconic 15 seconds. This will truly cement my entire existence into the glorious fabric of Eurovision .”

Myf Warhurst & Joel Creasey, and backstage correspondent, Courtney Act, will present the Final for SBS 5am AEST Sunday (replay 7:30pm).

Australians can vote in the Live Final.

You can vote online via Eurovision’s official voting partner Digame, exclusively for Australia’s public Eurovision vote. This means there will be no SMS or televoting in Australia during the live shows. All of Australia’s public votes will be received via this online voting portal, which can be accessed via www.esc.vote

The voting portal will be open to Australians during the voting period in the Grand Final. Just like SMS voting, votes will be limited to 20 per person and will cost 65c per vote. Users can allocate 20 votes to one act, divide their votes between multiple acts, or just make one vote for their favourite. Jury members and public voters can’t vote for their own country, so you can vote for any country in the Grand Final. For more information on how to vote, please see here Full voting terms and conditions will be available on the voting platform.

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Voyager lead singer Danny Estrin is Australia’s Spokesperson for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest jury

National treasure and lead singer of australia's 2023 eurovision representatives voyager, danny estrin, will be letting us know who gets our douze points..

Daniel Estrin, lead singer of Voyager. Credit: Michael Dann

AUSTRALIA’S EUROVISION SPOKESPERSON

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Voyager: Meet the Eurovision die-hards finally representing Australia

Prog-rock band voyager have come close to representing their country a couple of times in the past, article bookmarked.

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Australia may have only joined Eurovision in 2015, but fans are hoping 2023 could be the country’s year thanks to the star power of prog-rock band Voyager .

The five-piece – whose current line-up features Daniel “Danny” Estrin, Simone Dowe, Scott Kay, Ashley Doodkorte and Alex Canion – first formed in 1999. Since then, the band have swapped out their members many times, releasing seven studio albums over 24 years.

Voyager are representing Australia for the first time in Liverpool in this year’s final, but this is far from their first shot at Eurovision glory.

Follow our live blog for all the latest updates on Eurovision 2023

The group were shortlisted to compete for Australia in 2020 (although they did not make it to the country’s final), only to become the runners-up in Australia’s competition last year, eventually losing out to the raven-haired belter Sheldon Riley.

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For 2023, Voyager were internally selected to represent Australia with their song “Promise”, which is part pulsing synth track, part rock head-banger.

As with many Eurovision songs, such as this year’s self-empowerment anthem “Queen of Kings” by Norway’s Alessandra , Voyager’s track imparts a positive message.

Lyrically, “Promise” speaks to the importance of companionship in a chaotic world. “Sometimes we all just need a friend, partner or family to tell us it’ll be alright,” said guitarist Scott Kay.

Voyager is set to compete in the second semi-finals on Thursday (11 May) in Liverpool, where they will be up against Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Estonia, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Solvenia, Georgia, San Marino, Austria, Albania, and Lithuania for a chance to compete in Saturday’s grand final (13 May).

We spoke to guitarist Kay about the history of long-haired rockers in Eurovision and the pressures of going up against Sweden’s Eurovision favourite and competition darling Loreen in Liverpool.

Hi Scott! Congrats on your Eurovision entry track “Promise” – it’s a belter! What’s the backstory behind the song?

“Promise” began as an intriguing introduction, with Danny begging the question: “Have you ever done anything like this before?” to which our answer as a band was, “Nope!”.

It felt like a great idea to explore, so we delved into it together. “Promise” lyrically is a reflection of the chaos in the world, and that sometimes we all just need a friend, partner or family to tell us it’ll be alright.

Eurovision loves a long-haired rock star, who have been some previous favourites of the genre?

We love Blind Channel from Finland. The staging was epic, and the theatrics for the performance are epic. Their performance has influenced us, and we hope to capture that same energy.

Australia is still a relatively new addition to Eurovision – how has the country embraced the madness of the competition?

By staying up to ungodly hours just to simply watch Eurovision! We’re more dedicated viewers by default, I think. Australia is such a massive cultural melting pot, so it only makes sense that Eurovision would be embraced so deeply. We love theatre, drama, the discussion about the music and the outfits.

This isn’t your first attempt to represent Australia at Eurovision. What has made 2023 the right year?

We were internally selected this year, but won the popular vote last year with our song “Dreamer” in 2022. I genuinely think we were a point of difference for Australia last year; a heavy band with a pop sheen, and our song had immediacy to it. This year, we believe it only made sense to be chosen to represent the country considering how close we came in 2022!

What parts of Liverpudlian culture are you most excited to experience?

Liverpool is such an art-focused city, so it’s going to be great to be immersed not only in the Eurovision culture, but the music and art scene that already exists there. If we have time it would be great to get to a pub and watch some local talent, perhaps visit the Beatles Museum too.

Who’s your favourite past Eurovision winner?

“Euphoria” by Loreen is just such a captivating and powerful song, it’s hard to go past. It’s both amazing and slightly intimidating to be competing against her this year as well!

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Voyager's lead singer Danny Estrin reveals cancer diagnosis and cancels European tour

Australian progressive metal band Voyager's frontman, Danny Estrin, has revealed a "life-altering" cancer diagnosis, as the band cancels its upcoming European tour. 

Key points:

• Estrin, who is the Perth band's lead singer, shared his "life-altering" cancer diagnosis 
• The band has cancelled an upcoming European tour with hopes to reschedule in October 2024
• Its last performance will be at the America's Cup Event in Fremantle on Sunday

Estrin, who is the Perth band's lead singer, shared the announcement on the band's official Instagram account on Friday. 

"Last week I was dealt some life-altering news: I've been diagnosed with cancer that requires immediate treatment," he wrote.

"I am absolutely devastated that we cannot perform on our forthcoming European tour, especially after this incredible Eurovision year we've had.

"I am on strict doctors' orders to not take this lightly, put my health first and get this sorted so we can be on stage again as soon as possible." 

Estrin said it had been an "extremely hard decision to make" and the band's upcoming European tour would be rescheduled to October 2024. 

"Voyager will perform our last show for a while at the America's Cup Event in Fremantle, Western Australia this Sunday 24 September 2023, so come and party with us before I start treatment," he added.

"I'm surrounded by my incredible bandmates and team who are navigating all things Voyager whilst I am out of action."

The band was  Australia's lead contender at the 2023 Eurovision , making the grand final and eventually finishing ninth. 

The band has had its fair amount of changes throughout its lifetime. 

Voyager parted ways with bass player Jennah Greaig in 2004 and his replacement, Melissa Fiocco, was later replaced with Alex Canion after the release of the album uniVers.

In June 2008, guitarist Mark De Vattimo quit Voyager due to personal and professional differences.

Guitarists Chris Hanssen and Scott Kay and drummer Mark Boeijen soon followed.

A June Australian tour saw sold-out shows nationwide, with the Perth performance needing to move to a larger venue to accommodate demand.

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