After another stunning rendition of Sound of Silence, below, Dami, 27, stormed to the lead as the millions of votes poured in from around Europe.
But in the agonising last few moments of the competition, Ukraine’s Jamala snuck narrowly ahead, winning with 534 points for her song 1944, just 23 points clear of a brave runner-up Dami. Russia was third on 491 points.
Dami gushed in the green room that her heart-rate was “nonstop going, going, going” as she appeared to top the leaderboard until the very last second.
She added: “I have to thank Europe for inviting us to be part of such a fun event.”
“It was just insane. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Australia was right at the top and you know, every time we got 12 points, we were just like wow! What’s going on. What do I do? I was just so excited and I just wasn’t expecting that. It was amazing.”
The Australian-Korean stunner sang her heart out in a shimmering sparkling gown by Australian designer Steven Khalil.
It was a performance that won her the most votes from professional music juries in the 42 competing countries, but unfortunately missed out on the coveted title on the count of votes from Eurovision fans phoning in.
Before the results of were announced, Justin Timberlake performed his new hit Can’t Stop the Feeling live for the first time at the international competition.
Justin opened the performance singing 2003’s Rock Your Body before soon switching over to his new single. He was joined by a group of backup singers/dancers and a horn section for the feel-good song’s live debut.
He shared his excitement about the appearance on Instagram.
“It’s an honor to share the #Eurovision stage tonight with so many talented artists from all over Europe. Best of luck to every contestant,” he wrote.
If you missed the live action, the Grand Final will screen again on SBS from 7.30pm (AEST), on Sunday, May 15.
