22-year-old Anna Buchiger won ORF Productions “Starmania 21”. Born in Salzburg, she defeated Fred Osso, Vanessa Dolhofer and Tobias Hirsch in the final match on Friday evening. Her self-composed musical “Ease” finally achieved her victory. Prior to this, she had proven her versatility with Prince’s song “Kiss” and Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You”.
That was the end of a ten-week journey with many shows. “For me it was working now. I’ll pack my things and go home,” Buchiger noted with a wink in an interview with host Arabella Kisbauer immediately after her final performance. She’s not at all sure if she wants to go that far. “But it feels good for your lyrics and melodies to play. I would give it to anyone. In the end, the music wins.”
In an initial reaction after the decision, Buchegger was very conservative. “I’m fine,” the recent ‘Starmania’ winner said. “But I was fine the whole show. We were all in the same boat. Not much left to miss. Actually there are no winners or losers in music, it’s just that show.” With the music, it continues anyway for all the candidates. “We still have to be heard,” asked the Salzburg woman. However, victory is of course a “complete affirmation.”
The singer described her song “Easy”, in which she accompanied Buchiger on the piano, as “a message to the forces on this planet and beyond.” So she won the final duel against Fred Osso (24) of Graz, where modern pop music was introduced to the public with the influence of R’n’B. “Hold On” ultimately got very few votes to survive against Buchegger. During the show, he was also seen with Aloe Blacc’s “I Need A Dollar” and director Marvin Gaye’s “Sunny”.
The jury, consisting of singer Ina Regen, musician Tim Bendzko and rapper Nina “Viva” Sonnenberg, had little to say in the final show. Although they still commented on appearances, the vote was only reserved for television audiences. Only the second part of the song that evening was linked to the jury: the candidates were allowed to choose between the proposals of the trio.
So did Vanessa Dulhofer, who failed just before the last appearance: a 16-year-old Lower Austrian, who has been one of the favorites for “Starmania 21” since the premiere, sang “Schön Enough” by Ina Regen, put in the race by Lena Mali. , Which confirmed its weakness in melancholy tones. She previously showed off her rocking side with Melissa Etheridge’s song “Bring Me Some Water”. “Thank you for letting me be there,” said the young singer. “I’m very satisfied. It’s not a disappointment at all.” As a side detail: Fiva suggested my jury song composed by Anna Buchegger and Fred Owusu.
Before that, Tobias Hirsch (19) had to ditch his sails first, as he couldn’t convince enough viewers with Demi Lovato’s Anyone. In an initial reaction, he felt relieved even to leave the place. “A lot of the pressure is fading away. You deserve it,” he told his rivals. This made him fourth – out of a total of 64 candidates who managed to qualify for television programs from 1,700 interested parties.
However, tonight was the end of a long wait. After all, the previous “Starmania” season was in 2008/09. Michael Tchugnall, Verena Pozzel, Nadine Piller, Oliver Wimmer have won the previous four editions. But even today, notable names in the music business such as Christina Sturmer or Tom Newworth aka Conchita Wurst or Eric Babyela are known from the ORF format of choice.
However, the journey of “Starmania 21” is not completely over: 13 nominees for the show, including of course winner Anna Buchiger and the other three finalists, will go on tour in the summer. In compliance with all security measures against Coronavirus, outdoor concerts are planned in Linz (July 31), Innsbruck (August 7), Vienna (August 13 and 14), Graz (August 21) and St. Pölten (August 28).
(Services – )