The song “Who the Hell is Edgar?” by Teya & Salena has become one of the favorites of Eurovision fans. It was internally selected by the Austrian broadcaster ORF. On January 31, the broadcaster announced that Teya & Salena would represent Austria in Liverpool.
Get to know Teya & Salena (Eurovision 2023 Austria)
Teya Devy, now known artistically as Teya, discovered her passion for music at the age of twelve and cites Adele and Amy Winehouse as her biggest idols. She learned to sing on her own, performed in musicals, and had her first experiences on stage as a saxophonist in a jazz orchestra. At 17, she started writing songs and participated in composition camps throughout Europe, especially in Eurovision camps in Switzerland, Belgium, and Sweden. In 2020, she participated in the selection to represent Austria and Serbia in Eurovision.
Selina Edbauer, known artistically as Salena, comes from a musical family and had her first experiences with singing as a young teenager. She moved to Berlin and Cologne due to extensive recordings and television performances on The Voice of Germany, showcasing the diversity of her Pop and R&B range. She realized that it is not necessary to leave home to find creative inspiration and build a musical career and eventually moved to Vienna in 2019, which opened up a lot of new opportunities. Besides working as a professional singer on ads for TV/radio for the biggest Austrian broadcaster, she participated in several preliminary rounds for the selection of the Austrian representative in Eurovision. She worked with professional composers/producers from around the world and participated in the most famous casting program in Austria, Starmania 2021, which was another opportunity to draw attention to her musical work.
“Who the hell is Edgar?”, their song for Liverpool
The song was released on March 8th. It is an energetic pop song that is a criticism of the music industry, with clear references to Spotify and the profitability it offers to singers. The song also seeks to empower female songwriters, criticizing the sexism present in the industry when deciding whether a song is good or not. These references are present not only in the song’s lyrics but also in the music video, in which both young women are dressed up as men presenting their proposal to a group of bosses, all of whom are men, criticizing the fact that most positions at the top of this sector are for men and not for women.
“Who the hell is Edgar?” Lyrics
Original lyrics
Oh my God, you’re such a good writer
Oh, it’s not me, it’s Edgar
Who the hell is Edgar?
There’s a ghost in my body and he is a lyricist
It is Edgar Allan Poe, and I think he can’t resist
Yeah, his brain is in my hand, and it’s moving really fast
Don’t know how he possessed me, but I’m happy that he did
‘Cause this song is feeling special, and is gonna make me rich
Yeah, the words are spilling out, what the heck is this about?
Oh, mio padre*, there’s a ghost in my body, oh oh ohh…
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Edgar Allan, Edgar Allan
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Maybe I should call a doctor or an exorcist
Maybe someone out there knows where Shakespeare is so I can get a taste
What’s your IPI? Where’s the A&R?
Girl, call Universal, you’re about to be a star
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Edgar Allan, Edgar Allan
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe, Poe
Edgar Allan
Who the hell is Edgar?
Oh, mio padre
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
There’s a ghost in my body
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
Oh, mio padre
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
There’s a ghost in my body
Zero dot zero zero three
Give me two years, and your dinner will be free
Gas station champagne is on me
Edgar cannot pay rent for me
Zero dot zero zero
Zero dot zero zero
Zero dot zero zero three
At least it pays to be funny
Ugh
Oh, mio padre
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
There’s a ghost in my body
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
Oh, mio padre
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
There’s a ghost in my body
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
Oh, mio padre
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
There’s a ghost in my body
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
Oh, mio padre
(Poe, Poe, Poe…)
There’s a ghost in my body
Oh, mio padre, there’s a ghost in my body, oh oh ohh…
Who the hell iѕ Edgar?
Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest
The country debuted in the contest in 1957 and has participated in 54 occasions since then. Austria has won the contest twice, the first one in 1966 with Udo Jürgens and the song “Merci, Chérie” and the second one in a more recent stage in 2014, with the well-known Conchita Wurst and the song “Rise Like A Phoenix”.
After Conchita’s victory, the country reached the final in five consecutive occasions, the last time being in 2018 where César Sampson and the song “Nobody But You” achieved a magnificent third place.
Last year, LUM!X and Pia Maria with the song “Halo” also failed to break the streak and were eliminated in the semifinals with only 42 points and a 15th place out of 17 participating countries.