STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Daniel Estrin is competing this week in the Eurovision Song Contest.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
No, not NPR's Middle East correspondent.
INSKEEP: No?
MARTIN: We're talking - no.
INSKEEP: OK.
MARTIN: We're talking about the lead singer of the metal band Voyager.
INSKEEP: That Daniel Estrin and his band are representing Australia in the competition.
MARTIN: And it turns out, Steve, that Daniel and Daniel met a long time ago.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Hey, hey.
DANIEL ESTRIN: Hello, hello, hello. Is this Daniel Estrin?
ESTRIN: This is. Is this Daniel Estrin?
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): I think it is.
ESTRIN: Let's get this sorted out. We have already decided that the proper plural of our names is...
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Daniels Estrin, I believe.
ESTRIN: Yes. Like attorneys general, Daniels Estrin.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): There is no other way to say that.
ESTRIN: In fact, there are three Daniels Estrin. There is the lead guitarist of the American band Hoobastank.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE REASON")
HOOBASTANK: (Singing) I'm not a perfect person.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): There is the American journalist. That's me.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
LEILA FADEL: NPR's Daniel Estrin has been speaking to protesters and joins us from Tel Aviv. Good morning, Daniel.
ESTRIN: Good morning, Leila.
And then there's you, the Australian metal musician.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DREAMER")
VOYAGER: (Singing) And I got nowhere to go, and I got nowhere to be. I got no one to help me fall asleep.
ESTRIN: We should tell the story of how we discovered each other, right?
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Yes. Well, I think we discovered each other through a mistaken email address that was almost correct but not quite.
ESTRIN: And I wrote back and said, you know, you've got the wrong Daniel Estrin. I'm a journalist.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): I don't think you were aware of my existence at that time.
ESTRIN: I'm sorry to say I wasn't, but that's how I discovered you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DREAMER")
VOYAGER: (Singing) Tonight.
ESTRIN: You were coming to visit your sister, who's a professor in Jerusalem, and we met for coffee. I was very nervous before meeting you because I was wondering, am I going to have anything in common with this metal rocker from Australia with half his head nearly shaved and the other half with this long, flowing hair all the way down to his back? And Tel Aviv hosted Eurovision a few years ago, and you were - you came back, and we were watching the show together. It was so much fun. Were you thinking to yourself, like, I want to be on that stage one day?
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): I mean, I've thought that for a lot of my life, just because I've grown up with Eurovision, and I'm a big fan of the whole competition. Absolutely. When I was there in 2019, looking at that stage going, one day I will be on this stage.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMISE")
VOYAGER: (Singing) Have you ever done anything like this before? Have you ever done anything like this before?
ESTRIN: Talk about the song that your band Voyager is going to be performing at Eurovision.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): It's called "Promise." And the song, lyrically, is really all about the chaos that we see in the world today, and it's getting more and more chaotic and that sometimes you just got to find someone or something to tell you, hey, you know what? It's going to be all right.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMISE")
VOYAGER: (Singing) I am by your side. Promise me it's going to - promise me it's going to be all right.
ESTRIN: You know that other Daniel Estrin we mentioned, the lead guitarist of the band Hoobastank?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE REASON")
HOOBASTANK: (Singing) I've found a reason for me.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Well, it's been a dream to unite all the Daniels Estrin, so yes, I do, of course. I mean, he's very famous, and I hope that one day those three powers can combine. God knows what we can achieve.
ESTRIN: Daniel Estrin, that day is today.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): What?
ESTRIN: Dan Estrin of Hoobastank.
DANIEL ESTRIN: What's up, guys?
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): No way.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): Hey, Daniel Estrins. It's Daniel Estrin from America over here.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): This is amazing.
ESTRIN: This is a historic Daniel Estrin summit, my friends.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): This is phenomenal. Hi.
ESTRIN: This is the first time we've all spoken to each other.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): What's up, you guys?
ESTRIN: Hi, Daniel.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Hi, Daniel.
ESTRIN: Do either of you get mistaken for each other or mistaken for me?
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Yeah. I mean, the number of times people go, I didn't realize you were doing radio as well. That's really cool. Your accent has changed a bit though. So I get that a lot. It's great.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): I have been tagged in photos of you...
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Oh (laughter).
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): ...like, from Voyager. Yeah. Like, there's been fans of yours that have posted in their stories a photo of you from just, like, recently, you know, last week, and then there's me tagged in it. And I just get a kick out of it.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): That's so good. That makes me so happy. That's so funny.
ESTRIN: Dan, got any words of wisdom for our pal Danny on achieving a breakout success at Eurovision?
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): I think that from what I've heard, musically, like, it's really catchy. It's a sick song. I was - I've been listening to it a lot.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMISE")
VOYAGER: (Singing) I'm here tonight. Promise me you'll hold me till I die.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): My only advice is just continue. Continue to do what you love. Continue to write music. And it sounds b****ing. Like, yeah, that song is really cool.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMISE")
VOYAGER: (Singing) Promise me it's going to be all right.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): When the band kicks in, like, the hair on my arms goes up a bit. I don't know, man. I'm digging it.
(SOUNDBITE OF VOYAGER SONG, "PROMISE")
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): Had I never spoken to Daniel NPR, I would have had just assumed that Danny and the Voyager camp probably were just like, ugh, Hoobastank. That - honestly, that's just kind of where my head goes a lot, you know? Like, someone's clowning us, or - we are this band, well known for this ballad-y song, and, God, he probably just thinks we're - that's kind of how I felt initially. But then when I was reached out by Daniel, I was like, you know what? It's probably not like that. He's probably super dope and cool and, you know, let's do this.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): I'm kind of sad that you thought this was a spoof. I admire your work. I think it's amazing. It is one of the hardest things in the world to write a song that makes it so big and then is in the zeitgeist of literally every single person. So kudos to you. Keep doing what you're doing. You're amazing, and I hope to meet you one day.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): Same man. This has been great.
ESTRIN: What has it meant to you guys to speak to two other guys named Daniel Estrin?
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): To me, it's immense how wondrous connections are between humans and how incredibly closely and inextricably linked we all actually are. And pardon the motto of Eurovision this year, which is united by music. That's literally what we are. It's not very metal to be all positive and lovey-dovey, but that's the message to me, and it's meant a lot that this has happened today. It's just bizarre and awesome.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): Totally.
ESTRIN: Can we go out singing a few bars as your backup singers to Voyager's "Promise"?
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Sure. Absolutely.
ESTRIN: OK.
(Singing) You ever done anything like this before?
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): (Singing) Have you ever done anything like this before?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PROMISE")
VOYAGER: (Singing) If you've never done anything like this before, then you haven't been alive.
ESTRIN: I think we should probably go on tour at some point, right?
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): Yes.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): What would we call ourselves?
ESTRIN: Well, maybe Daniel and the Estrins.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): So good.
ESTRIN (HOOBASTANK): Woo-hoo. Ready? Daniel Estrin, NPR News.
ESTRIN (VOYAGER): Daniel Estrin, NPR News.
ESTRIN: Daniel Estrin, NPR News.
MARTIN: Daniel Estrin and Daniel Estrin will be cheering on Daniel Estrin at Eurovision this week.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) And, for the first time ever, viewers around the world can vote for their favorite song.
MARTIN: Can we vote?
INSKEEP: Now, we're going to stay impartial, but everybody knows who we're for.
MARTIN: But we all know. Yeah, we all know.
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