Two more to go – Australia and Sheldon are next. He appears without the mask which means we can see his face!
How can he describe his performance? Well, there are some things to tweak, but he is loving how it is looking. The message he wants to convey with the stage performance is that you can unapologetically be yourself, and he knows Eurovision is a place where he can be himself and break down barriers.
Asperger’s syndrome
He wrote the song when he was 15 and struggling with Asperger’s syndrome and the fact that he was sure he would not achieve anything. He did not want to be a quiet person and when he became himself, he wrote a message on Facebook saying he is not the same and it’s all OK.
He seems so humble and if he is going to do this, it’s got to be really big. Responding to a question about the masks, he says he has sixteen, and tries to match them to his outfits. He says that a lot of us hide behind masks, but importantly, he doesn’t want the song to be a flag bearer for coming out sexually, just come out as you.
Grayson
His songs are usually written when he is sad and he loves his dog (Grayson) more than his boyfriend. If Mr Sheldon is watching, you have competition. Inspirations? Eurovision naturally – he gets up at 5am, three times a year and Barbara Pravi is still inspiring him.
After a performance, Sheldon says that he loves the quiet time and he makes his own outfits including the one in the picture and that he loves to create!. He says that he never thought he would amount to anything – and gets emotional to have made this paryicular dream come true.
@eurovision Wow! A strong vocal performance from @Sheldon Riley 👏🇦🇺 during his first rehearsal at #Eurovision #Eurovision2022 #EurovisionTikTok ♬ original sound – Eurovision