Eurovision 2016’s second-place singer, Australia’s Dami Im, has won the latest season of Australia’s version of The Masked Singer.
Dami Im as the Snow Fox
The Masked Singer originated as a Korean television show, but the premise, as it’s been franchised across countries, remains the same: singers perform in full costume, hiding their faces. A series of panelists try to guess each singer’s identity based on clues provided. After the performances, the audience votes for their favorite; the contestant with the fewest votes is unmasked and eliminated from the show.
Dami Im, herself a Korean immigrant to Australia, won the fifth season of the show while costumed as a white fox. She represented Australia in 2016 and achieved second place–first in the jury vote–with her song “Sound of Silence”.
Eurovision and Masked Singer: a close connection
However, Dami Im isn’t the first Eurovision contestant to appear and thrive on the Masked Singer franchise. Other Masked Singer winners with a Eurovision connection include Austria’s Nadine Beiler (2011); Belgium’s Sandra Kim (1986); Bulgaria’s VICTORIA (2020, 2021); Croatia’s Damir Kedžo (2020); Estonia’s Stefan (2022); France’s Amaury Vassily (2011); Switzerland’s Luca Hänni (2019), who appeared on the German version of the show; Lithuanian national final participant Rūta Ščiogolevaitė; Norway’s Ulrikke (2020) and Didrik Solli-Tangen (2010); Portugal’s Rita Guerra (2003); Russia’s Dima Bilan (2006, 2008) and Sergey Lazarev (2016, 2019); Sweden’s Norwegian transplants Marcus and Martinus (Melfest 2023); and Ukraine’s Zlata Ognevich (2013) and Melovin (2018).
Additionally, Eurovision alums have appeared on the show as panelists, including Armenia’s Iveta Mukuchyan (2016); Austria’s Nathan Trent (2017); Eesti Laul host Karl-Erik Taukar; UMK 2023 contestant Benjamin; France’s Anggun (2012); longtime Sanremo participant Patty Pravo; Latvia’s Samanta Tina (2020, 2021); Lithuania’s Monika Liu (2022) and Vaidotas Valiukevičius of The Roop (2020, 2021); Russia’s Alexey Vorobyov (2011); Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw (2015, host 2016); Luca Hänni on the Swiss edition of the show; and Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka.
Finally, Eurovision is represented in the show’s hosts as well. Armenia’s Aram MP3 (2014) and Greece’s Sakis Rouvas (2009) have appeared as hosts but not panelists or contestants. Additionally, former Eurovision hosts Arabella Kiesbauer and Miriam Weichselbraun (2015) and Volodymyr Ostapchuk (2017) host the show in their respective countries.
What Eurovision participant should go on Masked Singer next? Did you watch Dami Im sing her way to victory? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Tumblr, Threads and Bluesky as we gear up for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: Network 10; Dami Im
Photo Credit: Network 10
