To be annoyed at how bad our Eurovision song is?

I didn’t see the performance by UK last night but I keep hearing it was good and dammit it’s giving me that hopeful feeling I get every year that we could do well only to watch on the night and see nobody give us any points.

I must say, I was like most other people when the song was first publicised: open-mouthed and wondering what this mad concoction was all about.

But yesterday, in the context of actually being performed live at Eurovison, it really did make a lot more sense. I think they did very well indeed.

Yeah, I always thought that about Terry and Graham. It's not been so much of a problem for Graham, because Ireland haven't even made it to the final on quite a few occasions, but Terry was presenting during Ireland's winning years, and it must have been weird to say 'we didn't do very well' when Ireland won it.

I do agree, though, that we can't blame UK losses on politics. Some have even suggested Sam Ryder's second place was owing to everyone knowing the Ukraine were going to win and nobody wanted to host it on the back of second place, but I think it was just a good Eurovision entry. The public voters make a lot of difference now, and I don't imagine for one minute the public are all thinking about hosting costs.

Oh, I agree that there is some political element to it, with some countries voting for their neighbours - whether just to instinctively show favour to those of a similar culture, people from one country who have crossed the border to live in a neighbouring country voting for their own (original) country, or because a particular musical style is popular in one specific region straddling two or three countries.

To be honest, I wonder how unnaturally awkward it must have been/be for our two Irish hosts to be saying "them" (Ireland) and "us" (UK) and not show any instinctive allegiance.

I just think that it's blown up out of all proportion - to the extent that, even in the Jemini year, some Brits were actually still claiming that we got no points "because it's all politics and they hate us"!

It's insanely cheap for the BBC though, for what they get. The per hour cost is comparable to a cheap quiz show or a daytime format like Homes Under The Hammer, but for primetime entertainment.

Exactly - which is why we’ll never opt out.

Got to say, their performance won me over last night. I’ve changed my mind and think they could do well. They looked and sounded good, performed well and stood out from the crowd. I’m still not a fan of the lyrics, but the build up of the chorus and even all the previously annoying tempo changes gave it a decent Eurovision-y energy that I enjoyed.

I agree with this.

I don't get all the extremes of hate coming off this thread. The song really isn't that bad. It probably isn't winning material but I will be surprised if it is in the "null point" zone.

I think it is a reasonably catchy tune, they have good voices and harmonise well and maybe their musical theatre background will help the performance. Also they have been doing some gigs in Europe so have been getting it out there.

I watched the first semi last night and think it could stand up well with any of those.

I don't usually buy the 'political' angle altogether, but back when Terry Wogan presented it there was a whiff of neighbours voting for neighbours. Terry noticed it and commented on it.

And I do think 'Tattoo' which got Sweden the win the year before last was a vote for Sweden to host. It was well sung but an absolute dirge of a song.

I have no memory of last year's winning song but remember wondering how he could balance on the staging.

The year that Phoenix won, it was the only song I liked in the whole contest

Rise Like a Phoenix was epic, I got to see Conchita sing in Liverpool, it was perfect - they had a phoenix drone show appear, it was breathtaking!

I had a few different favourites, but France and Switzerland were incredible last year.

One song I think is crap this year is Portugal - I can't believe it qualified.

Fair enough. I didn't think it was crap; just that there were several better ones.

With a song like Rise Like A Phoenix, irrespective of the LGBTQ angle to it, it was simply an amazingly great song, performed outstandingly and thus a worthy winner.

They're all on YouTube- full length performances...

And for what it's worth, I thought The Code was brilliant! It was very cleverly staged, technically difficult and delivered with energy and passion. Put Nemo in a different league. I don't see how you could find it "crap" even if you didn't like it.

I think it's a fine line to tread.

Eurovision fandoms tend to fight shy of "gay for the sake of being gay". Ireland's first gay kiss on stage didn't attract major points, Olly went seedy toilet gay etc.

But songs that are queer experience (exqueerience?) but ALSO have a broader self-realisation meaning connect really well. Rise like a Phoenix was very relatable about "I overcame people who hated me" way, and The Code, aside from a few references to non-binary, was relatable about struggling to work out you are and your life improving once you cracked it. But other songs have performed strongly with a similar theme minus the queer factor - Estonia's Bridges and One's Lights and Shadows come to mind.

Queer themes seem to win out over GAY GAY GAY fanbait.

Whilst I don't especially buy the 'it's all political' argument that so many people cling to every single year, I do think some acts with a popular or sympathetic message (based on the Eurovision fan demographic) get the votes irrespective of the actual song.

Nemo did it last year; Ukraine did it in 2022.

I reckon a lot of first-time performers struggle with the enormity of it all - both the size of the venue and the knowledge of how many people across the world are watching.

Singers with a background in musical theatre tend to have good strong, powerful, confident voices, so hopefully that may go in the RM girls' favour this year (even though I'm personally not a particular fan of the mish-mash contrapuntal nature of the song).

It was fine as an ordinary pop song but had no standout qualities imo. She didn't perform it very well on the night but wasn't a particularly difficult song to sing. It was never going to show off any amazing vocals whoever sang it

I guess it comes from the fact the juries scores come from the live rehearsal the night before, and in part how you watch it.

Apparently France butchered their jury show last year which could have robbed them as a win. I certainly loved their performance for the public.

And when it comes to the night - I was in a noisy bar in Turin when Italy's song came on. My friend from home messaged to say they tanked the vocals, which you absolutely couldn't tell when it was all drowned out by a hundred drunk Italians (my sincere apologies to the neighbourhoods of Turin affected by my rendition of Spaceman on the way back that night).

My husband and I rewatched it sober at home a few days later and understood the voting a lot better :D

The Switzerland one that won it last year was pretty bad , so you never know , they may like our effort and the girls are charismatic enough to pull it off! ( even though I hate it myself )

I will say that we never know, though. I've often been surprised at how the voting goes on the night, even from the juries. Some pretty dire numbers make it on to the left side of the board.

Interestingly, Olly's song wasn't a complete washout with the juries. It was the public that totally sank it.

i liked ollie alexander's song as well as sam ryder

Talented group let down by a "song".
I hope this raises their profile anyway.

Yes, that's what it sounds like to me. It has lots of energy, but doesn't flow properly, so it can't really take off. I thought I heard a hint of ABBA after the first minute or so, then it was on to something else.

She so was!

I liked Mae Muller's song too and was surprised by how badly she scored on the night. Until I got home and watched the performance, then it all made sense 😬.

I always thought that we should enter this song - but translated into Welsh, Cornish or Gallic, so we don't get rumbled

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kL1zs4OKYAU&pp=ygUdYnJhYmJpbnMgYW5kIGZ5ZmZlIGZvcmVpZ25lcnM%3D

I’ve always thought we should have gone down the folk/sea-shanty route as that has had a bit of a resurgence online in recent years. Songs that actually nod to the heritage of a country seem to go down surprisingly well.