“I only fell in love with the song the second time I listened to it. At first I didn’t think that it might be the song that I would go to the ESC with,” says Kaleen regarding “We Will Rave”. The 29-year-old from Ried im Traunkreis, whose real name is Marie-Sophie Kreissl, has now become friends with the pop song: “Now I’m the rave queen and I’m going to go all out in Malmö,” says the lively singer and dancer , choreographer and label founder.
At the second semi-final on May 9th, “I want to make myself and Austria proud, following all I already have a job to do at the ESC.” At yesterday’s presentation of the techno-inspired pop song in Vienna’s Ronacher, the video for “We Will Rave” recorded in Los Angeles was particularly eye-catching. Lascivious and with a lot of skin, that’s what the presentation of the red-white-red contribution to the European singing competition should look like.
“Video better than the song”
Kaleen: “I like the video almost more than the song.” For the number, which apparently still takes some getting used to for the performer, the ORF has docked with renowned ESC professionals in Denmark. The songwriting team includes Thomas Stengaard, the producer of the Danish winning title “Only Teardrops” by Emmelie de Forest from 2013. The fact that the competition was also held in Malmö back then may be seen as a stimulating omen.
The Swedish producer and songwriter Jimmy Thörnfeldt also bears ESC laurels: last year he was jointly responsible for the Swedish winning title “Tattoo” by Loreen. Thörnfeldt has worked with stars like Lady Gaga and Enrique Iglesias and has a Grammy Award on his business card (Pitbull’s album “Dale”). Vocal coach Monika Ballwein helps Kaleen vocally, and Canadian Lukas McFarlane (“X-Factor”, “The Voice”) creates the choreography that is important for the presentation of the uptempo pop song.
In addition to numerous championship titles in dancing, Kaleen herself brings a lot of personal experience to the Eurovision Song Contest. She has been part of the active ESC entourage since 2018, including as a choreographer and dancer for Spain and Bulgaria: “I know which train is rolling towards me.”
“Bring it a long way forward”
In terms of content, “We Will Rave” is intended to have a mood-enhancing effect. It’s regarding finding a musical refuge. When hearts are broken, the song is meant to heal the problems of hurt souls. Kaleen is confident that she won’t need the song to soothe her soul on May 9th in Malmö, but will advance to the final two days later: “With this number I can show everything that defines me. And with that I’m going a long way behind us bring it forward.”
ESC in Malmö The semifinals will take place on May 7th and 9th (with Kaleen). The top ten qualify for the final on May 11th with Italy, Germany, England, Spain, France and Sweden.
Author
Helmut Atteneder
Culture editor
Helmut Atteneder
