“I’m glad all this nonsense has stopped.”

Things have become relatively quiet around Styrian folk musician Andreas Gabalier in recent months. According to one Graz resident himself, this scandal-free period has existed for several years. “I gave up! Actually, I’m glad all this nonsense has stopped – actually since the Christmas conversation we had in this newspaper three years ago,” he said in an interview with the Standard newspaper. He also stressed what is Possible through mutual exchange.

Waiting for the wrong word

The 38-year-old doesn’t think everyone is waiting for him to say something bad. However, online comments are always willing to look for ratings at his concerts based on his reputation rather than objectively referring to sold-out stadiums with hundreds of thousands of people. He’s learned how to deal with it, but the loss of acceptance of different situations and viewpoints still occupies his mind. He now focuses more on giving his fans a good time instead of getting caught up in negative stories.

“Love life” as a sign of tolerance

Gabalier explains that his song from 2021 was lost to the public as an Austrian phenomenon. With “Liebesleben,” he wanted to make a statement about tolerance, a relatively anti-polarizing track by the “Hulapalu” singer. Because the song did not cause a big enough stir and did not fit the public perception of him, it was reported by much fewer media outlets. When it comes to “negative bullshit,” everyone is after it.

The years-long farce surrounding his interpretation of the Austrian national anthem was also discussed in the interview. When asked how he sings it now, he answered practically: “You can sing it either way. There are certain traditions you can stick to.”