Interview | Eurovision queen Netta on her ‘deep’ connection with the LGBTQ community

Eurovision queen Netta Barzilai has opened up about why she feels so connected to the LGBTQ community – she even calls us her “muse” (you’re welcome, babes).

The ‘Toy’ singer makes a memorable cameo in Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, out Friday 26 June.

And they’re taking part tonight, as Attitude and Netflix have teamed up to deliver The BIG Eurovision Song Contest Quiz for you to play along at home, and the cast and performances that make up our nigh 90-minute quiz show special will surprise and delight in equal measure. Expect nothing but the unexpected.

Netta – who won the competition in 2018 representing Israel – will also pop up in Attitude and Netflix’s BIG Eurovision Song Contest Quiz, on Saturday.

In an exclusive catch-up, the 27-year-old hitmaker reflected on her success, why she describes herself as “a straight girl with a gay story” and how her new single ‘Cuckoo’ (out now) will strike a chord with her LGBTQ fans.

Credit: Eran Levi

How has your life changed since winning Eurovision in 2018?

It seems like, since that moment, there has been a lot of water under the bridge. Eurovision has opened me to an international world, and it will forever be a part of my heart – like a mythological ex that keeps haunting you. Sometimes I call Eurovision when I’m drunk…

Where is the most unexpected place you have heard your song ‘Toy’?

I saw a video of kids from an orphanage in Uganda doing a choreographed dance to ‘Toy.’

What is your favourite Eurovision song – excluding your own – and why?

Verka Serduchka’s ‘Dancing Lascha Tumbai.’ To me, it’s the best Eurovision song: campy and trashy, yet genius and uplifting.

You appear in Netflix’s new film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga during an epic medley with your fellow Eurovision stars. What was that experience like? Who did you bond with the most?

I think it was the fifth time of me meeting Conchita Wurst. We always meet each other in very strange occasions. I love Conchita – she’s inspiring and a very deep soul.

Credit: Eran Levi

If you could collaborate with another Eurovision performer, who would it be and why?

I would do a collab with Lordi, the monsters who did ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah,’ because I would rock that mask!

What rituals/superstitions do you have before going on stage?

I listen to Skrillex and my hairstylist’s husband scatters salt behind me without [he thinks] me knowing.

What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you whilst performing?

I was in the Pride parade in Berlin, ready with my look and everything, but the moment I got on stage the parade was cancelled because there was a storm.

Tell us all about your new EP ‘Goody Bag’, out today (25 June). What was the main inspiration behind the collection of songs?

When you’re given a goody bag, you get leftovers from the party. I had an amazing two years, and this is what’s left of them. I decided to gather them up in a bundle and move on.

Our personal favourite is ‘Cuckoo’. What mindset were you in whilst writing that song?

I was in a moment of doubt. I doubted absolutely everything in my life. While people expected me to be happy – having a relationship and a peaking career – I felt lost and caged in their perception of what they want me to be, and what I really want to become.

Pride month has arrived. What does Pride mean to you?

I say a lot that I’m a straight girl with a gay story. I really feel a deep and strong connection with the LGBT community. They were the first ones holding my hand. My new single ‘Cuckoo’ is about cages, and I strongly feel that the LGBT community has to go through breaking their own cages and their own perceptions about who they want to be. They are my inspiration and my muse.

 

What is your favourite Pride anthem and why?

‘Beautiful’ by Christina Aguilera, and ‘I’m Coming Out’ by Diana Ross. My personal one is ‘Beautiful,’ because when I was eight this song single-handedly saved me, [while] ‘I’m Coming Out’ is just the perfect coming out song.

Attitude and Netflix present The BIG Eurovision Song Contest Quiz this Saturday 27 June on YouTube. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga arrives on Netflix this Friday 26 June.

Netta’s new EP ‘Goody Bag’ is out now.