Austria 2019: All you need to know about Pænda and her entry “Limits”
Following last year’s successful participation of Cesar Sampson who finished in the honorable 3r place of the grand final, the Austrian national broadcaster, ORF, opted once more for an internal selection in order to determine its Eurovision 2019 act. The national broadcaster concluded in PAENDA and the song Limits.
A few words about Pænda
Pænda (or Gabriela Horn as her real name is) was born in 1989 at the city of Deutschlandsberg in southeastern Austria, and apart from a singer she is also a composer and producer of electropop music. The 31-year-old electronic-pop artist Pænda, who learned to play the guitar and piano at the age of 14, moved from the Styrian region to Vienna when she was 20, to study jazz at the Vienna Music Institute.
Her project Pænda was launched in 2015 with her first singles “Waves” and “Good Girl”. Her debut album “EVOLUTION I” in 2016 will be followed by her second album “EVOLUTION II”, to be released on April 26. She composes, writes and produces all of her songs, which are influenced by a variety of music genres like electronic-pop, EDM, house, hip hop and trap.
The entry “Limits”
ORF describes her competing entry “Limits”, as “very electronic, very reduced, extremely contemporary, modern and fresh. The song tells the story of how she pushed herself beyond all limits in her zeal and passion for music to the point of full exhaustion. The song Limits is composed by herself, while its lyrics are entirely in English. The song expresses her vulnerability. At the same time, it conveys the message that it is important to believe in yourself in order to find your own way. The Austrian act stated on that:
Being aware of the moments where I needed a break was a process for me. It was a long and at times difficult road to learning my own limits.
Here are the Lyrics of the song:
Minds got to move but I’m so trapped within me
Expanded all my limits too carelessly
And I’m counting on the time to get me back in line
Cause nothing really makes sense no more
I’m set on hold so I needn’t be bold anymore
Cause the face in the mirror
Just couldn’t look clearer right back through me
And how I’d like to say
It will get better tomorrow or any day
Yeah I’m talking bout you, you
You and the luck you try to find
You, you
You and how hard you try to hide it
I sense the pain, but it doesn’t hurt anymore
It’s even number than the ache I felt before
So I smile for a while, let the torture begin
The pressure on my chest becomes almost routine
It’s not like I don’t care, but there’s nothing left to bare
Yeah I’m talking bout you, you
You and the love you try to find
You, you
You and how hard you try to hide it
And I’m letting it all come crushing down
Come breaking in
It’s like rain just left back blurred outlines
Paenda will perform her entry in the first half of the second semi final on May 16. You can wathch below the official music video of “Limits”:
The Eurovision Sotry So Far
Austria debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 and has won the competition twice with Udo Jurgens in Eurovision 1966 and the song Merci, Chérie and Conchita Wurst and her entry Rise Like a Phoenix in Eurovision 2014. In 2018 Austria selected Cesar Sampson via an internal selection and represented the country with his entry Nobody but you. The Austrian act achieved a honorable 3rd placing in the Grand Final by winning the jury voting winning the jury voting.
