Australia has failed to make it through to the grand final of the 2025 Eurovision contestant, with Go-Jo’s sexually explicit ode to “self-confidence and self-expression”, Milkshake Man, failing to win over the international audience.
In the semi-finals in Basel, Switzerland on Thursday, the 29-year-old viral pop sensation gave a full-throttled performance replete with giant blenders, Freddie Mercury-style jumpsuits and dramatic costume changes behind plumes of smoke.
The Western Australian-raised, Sydney-based singer-songwriter known as Marty Zambotto gave arguably the most ludicrously fun performance in Australia’s 10 years of competing in the world’s biggest song contest.
Thirty-seven countries are competing in the 69th iteration of Eurovision, with 26 acts now progressed into the grand final, which broadcasts on 17 May in Europe and Sunday 18 May at 5am AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand.
The so-called “Big Five” – Eurovision’s main financial backers France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – have guaranteed spots in the final, alongside hosts Switzerland.
Zambotto’s meteoric rise began in 2023 after he uploaded his song Mrs Hollywood to TikTok. It went on to receive 1bn views across all platforms.
Speaking to Guardian Australia ahead of the Eurovision competition, Zambotto said he was introduced to “the Olympics of music” as a child by his French father.
“The Eurovision stage, it’s all about, you know, self-expression, and the community around it’s all just so lovely.
“Knowing that Australia hasn’t won as well, I think it’s a lot more of a driver, too.”
Australia’s first appearance at Eurovision was in 2014, when Jessica Mauboy featured as an interval act during the semi-finals. In 2015, Guy Sebastian became the first Australian to enter the contest with the song Tonight Again.
In 2016 in Stockholm, Dami Im’s Sound of Silence came close to winning, with the Brisbane singer losing out to Ukraine. Isaiah followed in 2017; Mauboy represented Australia in 2018; and opera-trained Kate Miller-Heidke’s soared with Zero Gravity in 2019. The Covid pandemic stole Montaigne’s chance to perform live in 2020 and again in 2021. Sheldon Riley represented the country in 2022; synth metal band Voyager took the spotlight in 2023; and pop duo Electric Fields competed in 2024.
Zambotto co-wrote Milkshake Man with members of the band Sheppard. He describes it as a song about “embracing who you are”, with the titular Milkshake Man “a mascot of self-confidence and self-expression – a larger-then-life character who aims to inspire other people to feel the same way”.
Its lyrics include the lines: “The shake is not a drink – it’s a state of mind / Like a secret super power you were born to find / Drink it every day and before you know it /You’ll be bigger … and stronger … with harder bones.”
The 2025 Eurovision song contest grand final screens in Australia on SBS and SBS On Demand on Sunday 18 May at 5am. Viewers can cast their votes via the official Eurovision website, however the Australian public cannot vote for the Australian entrant.
