SBS television wooed the European Broadcasting Union for a year to get an Australian on stage at next week's Eurovision Song Contest, and Jessica Mauboy was the only singer considered.

Mauboy hopes to make it overseas on the back of her exposure at the 59th Eurovision, to be held in Copenhagen: ''Hopefully this will open some doors, people over there will listen to more of my music and I will eventually go over for a few months.''

Exposure: Jessica Mauboy will become the first guest singer from a non-European Union country to perform at Eurovision.

SBS director of television Tony Iffland said the station always had Mauboy in mind. ''Jessica is the face of modern Australia [and has] a brilliant voice,'' he said.

Mauboy becomes the first guest singer from a non-European Union country to perform at the event on Friday - although remarkably four Australians have competed before. Olivia Newton-John (1974, representing the United Kingdom), Gina G (1996, UK), Jane Comerford (2006, Germany) and Australian-born Johnny Logan (1980 and 1987, Ireland).