Jessica Mauboy has lifted the lid on her 'horrific' 2018 experience for the first time - revealing how the global spectacle left her shaken.
Nearly eight years after representing Australia with We Got Love, the singer has admitted the performance - now one of her most-streamed songs -
Despite the song's enduring popularity, Jessica confessed it became something she avoided - a painful reminder of what unfolded behind the scenes.
'I'm reclaiming [the song] now because of the horrific way it went down then,' she told this week's Stellar's Something To Talk About podcast.
'I celebrate it differently now. It was one of the biggest vulnerable moments of my life, putting that song into the world, sharing the story of those lyrics. It was kind of overshadowed by politics.'
While Eurovision is marketed as a unifying celebration of music, Jessica described a far harsher reality — one shaped by intense pressure, backstage noise and competing agendas.
Jessica Mauboy has lifted the lid to Stellar on her 'horrific' Eurovision 2018 experience for the first time - revealing how the global spectacle left her shaken
No one had prepared her for the reality of the competition - and in the immediate aftermath, things took a deeply personal turn.
'I remember receiving a phone call from [a Sony executive] saying I hadn't done enough or I didn't do my job properly,' she recalled.
'I was confused but then put the puzzle together; they obviously hoped we were going to get something – a hit – out of it.'
The comment stung — particularly given the emotional investment she had poured into the performance.
Jessica said the experience was clouded not just by industry pressure, but by wider forces — including ongoing tension around Australia's place in Eurovision and voting patterns that have long frustrated local entrants.
'I wanted to bring the club to them because it's one of those songs that just hits home,' she said.
'Every time I perform it I get quite emotional, because it says everything about the corruption, politics and greed of the world right now.'
Ironically, the song that once symbolised one of the toughest moments of her career has gone on to thrive — particularly within the LGBTQIA+ community, where it has found a second life on dance floors across Europe.
Nearly eight years after representing Australia with We Got Love, the singer has admitted the performance was overshadowed by 'politics' and a brutal backlash that followed her 20th-place finish
In March last year, Jessica revealed she became a mother for the first time
The Aussie pop star broke the happy news that she and husband Themeli Magriplis were the proud parents of a baby girl to Stellar.
