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When Isaiah Firebrace flies to Europe next month, he will not be the first Australian teenager to make a pilgrimage overseas.
Gap years are commonplace among young graduates and school-leavers keen to gallivant carefree around the globe.
But it’s not London calling Firebrace, or even the sapphire coast of Greece, popular places for youthful holidaymakers.
And this is no ordinary gap year jaunt.
Instead, he will fly to Kyiv, Ukraine, to become the first teen – and just the third Australian ever – to compete for his country in the Eurovision Song Contest.
“I always thought I’d go to Europe for a nice, relaxing holiday,” the 17-year-old said just hours after SBS announced he would sing new number Don’t Come Easy at the 2017 singing festival.
His voice, deep and rich, belies his age and seems entirely unperturbed by the size of the task ahead of him.
Asked whether he would have time to explore the continent between Eurovision commitments, his answer is as mature as his vocal chords.
“I’m there to work,” he said.
“If there’s no hard work, there’s no reward.”
Isaiah schools Europe
But hard work is second nature to the St Joseph’s College schoolboy.
After his first stint on The X Factor ended in a case of forgotten lyrics, he began a weekly regime of six-hour return trips to Melbourne for singing lessons.
And his first public performance in front of a year 8 assembly only came after a decade of singing experience.
“When I got up there, everyone knew I could sing,” he said.
“That sparked this whole journey off.”
Firebrace was forced to keep his Eurovision selection secret from family and friends weeks before Tuesday night’s reveal.
“I’m the kind of person who likes to tell everyone about my singing, where I'm singing,” he said.
Secrets to Kyiv success
While he also remained tight-lipped about what his Eurovision performance would look like, Firebrace let slip his preferred outfit for the occasion.
“I've heard sequins are a maybe for me, but I'd like to wear a really nice, white suit,” he said.
“It will be something really cool and different, eye-catching.”
But the production would be intimate, he said, not a “big Eurovision extravaganza”.
Australian delegation head Paul Clarke agreed the performance would be built around his contestant’s “staggering” vocal ability.
“With Isaiah we have an artist who has a unique ability to cast a spell with his voice,” Clarke said.
“It literally gave me tingles to hear (Don’t Come Easy) completed.
“We can't wait to present it on the stage in Kyiv.”
Jess and Dami’s expert advice
This year’s Eurovision is the competition’s 62nd and Firebrace laughs when reminded the song contest is almost five decades older than him.
His first exposure to the contest came just three years ago when Jessica Mauboy performed an Australian-themed routine during a semi-final in Malmo, Sweden.
“She's been really inspirational, especially having an indigenous background,” Firebrace, also an Indigenous Australian said of Idol second place-getter Mauboy.
“She’s an Australian singing house name.”
He will perform as the support act for Mauboy on an eight-date national tour before jetting out to Kyiv.
He sought advice from his mentor, as well as last year’s runner-up, Dami Im, in the days since being tapped to represent Australia at Eurovision.
“It’s 40-something acts performing back to back, so to do well it's got to stand out,” Im said while visiting Bendigo last year.
“You can't always pinpoint what that will be but it has to penetrate through the performance, whether it be your vocals or something super quirky.”
Unity in diversity
Isaiah’s selection continues an SBS trend of sending artists with non-Caucasian roots and is especially fitting for this year’s competition theme, ‘Celebrate Diversity’.
Before Firebrace and Im, Malay-Sri Lankan Guy Sebastian performed his self-penned Tonight Again in Vienna, Austria.
Multicultural artists have enjoyed similar success in The X Factor; past winners have not only included Im but Marlisa Punzalan and Cyrus Villaneuva too, both of whom have Fillipino heritage.
Im said people voted for talent, not skin colour.
“It shows you that people in Australia aren't as racist as sometimes the world paints us to be,” she said.
That world is already lapping up Firebrace’s brand of soulful pop. His The X Factor winners single has charted in countries like Sweden and Denmark.
It has also notched up more than 50 million listens on streaming service Spotify.
With international success knocking, one might think it his small hometown would be far from mind, but Firebrace makes particular mention of his love for hometown Echuca-Moama and its neighbouring city, Bendigo.
His last visit to the region was for an album launch in December.
“I just felt this immense joy that you can’t really find anywhere else,” Isaiah said.
“I actually love Bendigo.
“You get the best of both worlds – it’s like the city in the country.”
Do you have questions about the Eurovision Song Contest? How does it work? Why is Australia involved? Tweet our reporter, Mark Kearney, at username @mnkearney.