Austria: Pænda releases her Eurovision 2019 entry “Limits”

Austria: Pænda releases her Eurovision 2019 entry “Limits”

Austrian broadcaster ORF has released Pænda’s entry “Limits” for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv. Back in January ORF had revealed the Styrian singer Pænda as their internal choice for Tel Aviv.

The Austrian Eurovision 2019 entry “Limits” conveys both vulnerability and the importance to believe in oneself in order to find one’s own way as it tells the story of Pænda pushing beyond all limits for the sake and her love for music: “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.” Initially Pænda intended to compete with another song but eventually “Limits” was chosen after scout Eberhard Forcher listened to the singers upcoming album “EVOLUTION II”.

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 to study jazz. Her project Pænda was launched in 2015 with her first singles “Waves” and “Good Girl”. Her debut album “EVOLUTION I” 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. ORF describes her competing entry “Limits” as “very electronic, very reduced, extremely contemporary, modern and fresh.” During her announcement in January the artist explained her stage name Pænda by stating that she resembles a panda bear when she wakes up in the morning.

paenda

Regarding her internal selection and the Eurovision Song Contest Pænda states:

When I was watching the Eurovision Song Contest on ORF in the past few years, I knew that if the opportunity presented itself, I would very much like to become part of it and compete for Austria. Music becomes a universal language, boundaries dissolve and it is shown that love is colorful, diverse and can not be classified in any drawer. The contest is a bridge builder that manages to unite different cultures and religions for a while. Now I’m allowed to sing for Austria and I am overwhelmed. It really means a lot to me to be part of this message to the world.

It is not the first time that Austria opts for an internal selection: after their comeback at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 and their second victory with Conchita Wurst’s “Rise Like A Phoenix”, ORF has internally selected the Austrian representative for the last three years. Last year Austria was represented by Cesár Sampson with his song “Nobody But You”, who topped the jury voting and placed third at the Grand Final in Lisbon with 342 points.

 

Michael Vollmer

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