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Ireland: 380 submission for Eurovision 2024!

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Close to 380 is the number of entries for Ireland’s national final, the Late Late Show.

Michael Kealy, the head of Ireland’s delegation in the Eurovision Song Contest in an interview with Adam Mc Calling via TikTok revealed more details surrounding the selection process. In particular, he stated that the number of participations that have been submitted is around 375 to 378 and is the largest number that has been submitted since he took up this role. Michael Kelly and the rest of the team after listening to all the suggestions have singled out 60 songs which are characterized by a wide variety. Then it was mentioned that in the next phase of the proces,  each member of the jury will present their personal top ten to come up with the four artists/acts that will take part in The Late Late Show. However towards the end of the interview it was noted that there are two names that will be singed-out and rpoceed to the final night via fast-trach process bringing the number of finalists to six.

Below you can watch the relevant part of the interview on TikTok

@allthingsadam.ie Episode 1 of #eurovisionwithadam will be out Tuesday on Spotify + Apple Podcasts #eurovision #irish #ireland #eurovision2024 #eire #rte ♬ original sound – Adam Mc Callig

This year Ireland was represented in the competition in Liverpool by Wild Youth and the song “We Are One” but they did not manage to make it to the grand final as they finished 12th in the first semi-final with 10 points.

https://youtu.be/80-4_rjW10U

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Junior Eurovision 2023: Listen to Ireland’s song!

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With lees than a month to go until the 21st Junior Eurovision contest, the song that will represent Ireland in the contest has just been released.

In early October, the young Jessica McKean won the Irish National Selection for Junior Eurovision, Junior Eurovision Éire 2023. To indicate that the winner was selected by the public audience.

You can listen the “Aisling” by Jessica McKean for Junior Eurovision 2023 in the video below:

Who is Jessica McKean?

Jessica McKean is ten years old and she was born in a small town named Lifford which is located in North Ireland. Jessica started her journey in music at the age of three when she won the Gaelic Fèis Festival (about art and culture).

The young singer also participated in the Donncha’s Two Talented of RTÉ singing I Love You Honey by Patsy Cline and since then has won many competitions and awards.

Beyond singing, Jessica also engaged in art, crafting, piano lessons, football and gymnastics.

The 21st Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Nice, France, on the 26th of November, following Lissandro’s win last year in Yerevan.

https://youtu.be/RgZWCTe04nY

What do you think of the Irish entry for Junior Eurovision 2023? Write us in the comments below!

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Ireland: RTÉ unveils the cost of participating in Eurovision 2023!

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RTÉ, Ireland’s public broadcaster, has revealed the cost of the country’s participation in Eurovision for the last four contests, namely from 2019 to 2023.

Through the website Irish Mirror, the public broadcaster revealed that they paid €340,000 for the participation of Wild Youth in Liverpool, which includes €58,129 for the staging and €105,099 for the participation fee to EBU. This was the country’s highest cost in four years.

Below you can see Ireland’s cost of participating, from 2019 to 2023:

  • 2023 – €340,000 including participation fee 105.099€
  • 2022 – €315,161 – including participation fee 92,588€
  • 2021 – €330,000 – including participation fee 88,100€
  • 2019 – €336,000

As we can see from the figures, after the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the EBU, the cost of participation has increased for all other participating broadcasters. Ireland’s participation fee has increased by €16,999 from 2021, an increase of 19.3%.

RTÉ has already announced that it will be competing in Eurovision 2024. Submissions are open for anyone wishing to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2024, as in early 2024, a shortlist of artists will perform their songs on television, from which the winner will be the representative of the country in the contest.

Wild Youth represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.  Sadly, they did not qualify to the Grand Final.  Ireland has not qualified to the Grand Final since 2018

Source: Irish Mirror

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Ireland: Niamh Kavanagh will be the Irish spokesperson for Eurovision 2023!

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Niamh Kavanagh will be the spokesperson of Ireland during the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

The spokesperson of Ireland for this year will be the one and only winner of Eurovision Song Contest 1993, with her song “In Your Eyes”. Niamh Kavanagh, was one of the contest’s winners, during the golden ages of Ireland, and then represented the country again in 2010. Tomorrow night, Niamh will return once again, in order to announce the Twelve Points of the Irish jury.

As of now, the foloowing spokespersons have been confirmed for Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool:
  • Albania– Andri Xhahu
  • Austria– Philipp Hansa
  • Azerbaijan– Narmin Salmanova
  • Cyprus– Loukas Hamatsos
  • Estonia – Ragnar Klavan
  • Finland– Bess
  • Greece – Fotis Sergoulopoulos
  • Ireland – Niamh Kavanagh
  • Israel – Ilanit
  • Italy – Kaze
  • Latvia– Jānis Pētersons
  • Netherlands– S10
  • Poland– Ida Nowakowska
  • Portugal – Maro
  • Romania– Eda Marcus
  • San Marino – John Kennedy O’Connor
  • Spain – Ruth Lorenzo
  • Sweden– Farah Abadi
  • Switzerland– Chiara Dubey
  • Ukraine– Zlata Ognevich
  • United Kingdom– Catherine Tate

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Ireland: Ryan O’Shaughnessy explains how the country can get better results in the contest!

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The Irish representative from Eurovision 2028, went on to make a prolonged analysis, on the recent negative results of his country and how they can be fixed, on his personal Twitter page.

Since 2014, Ireland, managed to qualify for the Grand Final, only once, in 2018 with Ryan O’Shaughnessy and his song “Together”.

So it was only natural for the singer to make his statement:

He went on to say that he had to take many things on himself, as he didn’t want to go with the plan he was given by the public television:

«In 2018 when I qualified with the song “Together” I stepped in as creative director after refusing to emerge from an exploding cake and pushed hard to have 2 male dancers on stage with me, which was a hard sell at the time… I was responsible for signing off on final production of the track itself, I hired an independent stylist, and made sure the project as a whole had some content to it and it wasn’t just a song, but a message. All these factors helped get Ireland into the final.»

At the end of his post, Ryan named a couple of ways, that can help in order to change the negative image of Ireland in recent years:

«In my opinion, we need to have Irish songwriting camps with the intention of getting a brilliant song. We also need to allocate a large part of the budget to international marketing and should have the song out at least 4 or 5 months in advance of the competition. We have a language, a culture and a sound to offer the world, if we put forward a real Irish song it will resonate.»

Ryan O’Shaughnessy represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song “Together”, finishing in 16th place in the Grand Final, which is the country’s best result in the last eleven years:

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Eurovision 2023: Ireland’s First Rehearsal!

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The sixth country of the day to take the stage for their first rehearsal is the queen nation of Eurovision, Ireland, (with their 7 victories), with Wild Youth and their dynamic entry “We Are One”.

Everything about Wild Youth:

Formed in Dublin in 2018, this band of 4 friends combine rock with catchy pop harmonies. Their energetic performances have led to a string of hit songs and – the aim of any pop group – number one hits.
If you haven’t seen them performing on television, you might have caught them supporting megastars on tour; they’ve warmed up crowds for the likes of Niall Horan, Lewis Capaldi, and Zara Larson.

Frontman Conor O’Donohoe serves up passionate vocals and pens most of the band’s songs; David Whelan takes to the keys; Edward Porter riffs on the guitar; and Callum McAdam beats the drums.

Wild Youth won their place to represent Ireland through the Late Late Show, fighting off fierce competition, including an entry from Public Image Ltd.

The Rehearsal

The sequinned masks from the official video are nowhere to be seen – instead it’s Conor in a glam rock gold catsuit with flares. This staging also features our first stairs of the day – a horseshoe arrangement featuring ALL the LEDs. The whole performance looks and sounds fabulous. There are also pyros in the performance, huge jets of them, around the whole stage just before the final chorus. Definitely leading the pyro charge so far.

Even on the first rehearsal, it’s easy to imagine the crowd in the Liverpool Arena singing along to this euphoric chorus.

Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Corinne Cumming / EBU 

Below you can watch a small clip from Ireland’s first rehearsal from TikTok:

@eurovision Wild Youth’s first run through was as good as gold ✨🇮🇪 #Eurovision2023 #Eurovision @Wild Youth ♬ original sound – Eurovision

The second rehearsal of Ireland takes place on Wednesday 3/5 and we will be able to have a better view of what Wild Youth will be presenting on stage.

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Ireland: Wild Youth performed the revamped version of “We Are One” live for the first time on the Irish TV!

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The Wild Youth band performed the revamped version of “We Are One” live on the Irish television.

This year’s representatives of the Eurovision queen, Ireland, the Wild Youth band, performed for the first time the revamped version of their song “We Are One” with which they are going to participate in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2023 on 9th of May. The performance of the band took place on the RTÉ famous “The Late Late Show”, a few hours before they depart for Liverpool.

In the following video you can watch the live performance of the revamped version.

Ireland is scheduled to perform in the sixth place of the first semi-final on 9th of May, claiming one of the tickets for the grand final on Saturday 13th of May.

In the video below you can also watch the reaction of the Eurovision Fun team to the Irish entry.

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The Netherlands: All the performances of “Eurovision in Concert 2023”!

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Eurovision in Concert 2023 took place in AFAS Live in Amsterdam, last night, with 29 of this year’s entrants performing live.

The concert was hosted by Cornald Maas and Hila Noorzai. Cornald has been the Dutch Eurovision commentator since 2006. Hila is a radio DJ and member of the committee that selected this year’s Dutch representatives (Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper). She also hosted the Eurovision 2021 press conference in Rotterdam.

The artists that performed last night were the following:

Albania – Albina & Kelmendi Familija

Balcan sounds and consistent vocals is what we got from Albina and the Kelmendi Family! Might be the suprise entry of this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UKBP_v3BPY

Armenia – Brunette

Brunette singing about her Future Lover with ethereal vocals and the crowds singing along. Beautiful performance!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KspC8I7MXl0

Australia – Voyager

Voyager give what they promise! Rock and electronic sounds, so 2025! What is concerning though, is that even though their song is supposed to be very uplifting, the crowd was too static. Also falsetto was not always on point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx73Q68eWwU

Austria – Teya & Salena

That’s not a song where you can show off some unreal vocals, however it’s the song that will definitely make you dance! And Teya & Salena deliver, solid vocals and much much fun! One of my personal favourites and if you ask me, a finalist and highly likely a Top5 entry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdh6cFfcfKo

Azerbaijan – TuralTuranX

TuralTuranX “tell us more” about their entry this year, however I’m still not getting it. A song that I could listen to the radio without complaining, but wouldn’t catch my eye/ear at the contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XiT0RvJPn0

Belgium – Gustaph

The queerest entry of the year! His vocals are as good as the studio version! He is a fun guy! This is the kind of entries that I would like to qualify, even though that’s not the style of songs that I normally listen to!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgx-CPHRx5A

Czechia – Vesna

I can only comment on their vocals. They were okay. However, this entry started off as a potential winner, but I’m not getting that vibe, at least not yet. But hey! It’s just a party performance! Let’s wait for their contest rehearsals!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CocNlkxpxdg

Denmark – Reiley

Danish heart-throb Reiley, had his best performance to date. Some minor vocal issues, but overall a nice performance!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuT–QEIyag

Estonia – Alika

Nice song and great vocals! But for me, it’s no more than just that. I wouldn’t be surprised if Estonia got disqualified.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UKYFFFWjgU

Finland – Käärijä

Normally, that’s a song that I can’t stand listening to for more than 10 seconds. Strangely, combined to his eccentric looks and his super nice personality, I could now handle listening to his entire Amsterdam performance! Personal opinion aside, I can totally see why this is a contender for the win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd0n_sNDiAo

France – La Zarra

Unfortunately, after a statement in her personal Twitter account, La Zarra announced that she has to cancel her appearance in Amsterdam, due to personal circumstances.

Germany – Lord of the Lost

I can’t be objective, I don’t like this style of music. I can only be objective about their vocal abilities, which are on point I must admit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmPSRnNpd0A

Iceland – Diljá

That’s a song that I would add to my daily playlist, however, this song lacks something that I still don’t know what it is! Diljá’s voice is great admitedly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjjsWy1R93k

Ireland – Wild Youth

“Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” x “Ritmo De La Noche” x “We Are One” would be a great mashup! I low-key like this song and I loved their Amsterdam performance. But something tells me that they will struggle to qualify this year. Let’s see what happens!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NY6OODALZU

Latvia – Sudden Lights

Another performance that sounds exactly like the recorded version of their song! I didn’t see the love from the AFAS Live crowd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1qFm5Wtkgg

Lithuania – Monika Linkytė

Monika definitely sounds even better than the studio version of the song. She will try to claim a high placement in the rankings of the jury voting in this year’s contest! In the beginning I didn’t quite like “Stay“, I can now say that I love her vocals on this track!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSO-3m9J1js

Malta – The Busker

They were not bad, not at all sounding bad live, but were they as good as it needs to be to qualify to the final show of Eurovision Song Contest? Song-wise I think not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIswu3YrrfU

Moldova – Pasha Parfeni

Despite the technical issues with his Madrid performance, Pasha, the Moldovan 2012 representative and returning artist of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, managed to pull off his performance. Great vocals and energy overall!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7LsW-dA_0U

Netherlands – Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper

It’s really sad to see my 2nd place to perform questionably in their own country’s party concert. Their vocals sound a bit off at times and as a duo their vocals don’t seem to connect on their live performance. I hope they fix it till their semi-final, I don’t want to see them become the shocking non-qualifier of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toUGDak3o1Y

Norway – Alessandra

Very much improved vocally, Alessandra, gets carried away by the strength of her song and her fans are absolutely loving it! The whistle note was so-so. She will improve, I am sure!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F97_a4eMpK0

Romania – Theodor Andrei

Theodor has a nice voice, but this song is totally “Off and On” so one would either like it or not. I don’t.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyin57pzpcc

San Marino – Piqued Jacks

Their are very very good vocally. Their lead vocalist sounds like Klaus Meine, frontman of Scorpions band. Their song is not at all bad after all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqne0dGawhQ

Slovenia – Joker Out

I simply love this band and this song! One of my favourites! I love how they sound in each and every appearance they make before the contest. I hope they continue delivering up until the Eurovision finals!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7brJYVqqgZc

Spain – Blanca Paloma

A blend of flamenco and modern sounds, bringing Spanish tradition to 2023. Her vocals are absolutely amazing. I just don’t get the hype around this entry, it is a great entry for Spain, but definitely not a top 3 entry as many fans are claiming over at social media!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ycUxy4l00M

Sweden – Loreen

Her vocals are out of this world! Another amazing performance of the former Eurovision 2012 winner and potential 2023 winner! And for those that claim that she sings with the assistance of an Auto-Tune device, I can assure you that even when she rehearsed in the corridors of Malmö Arena or Friends Arena during the Melodifestivalen season, she sounded exactly the same, or even better than the studio version! My winner for sure!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlBuzqzjnIk

Switzerland – Remo Forrer

I absolutely love his Amsterdam (and every single one of his) live performance! I can’t wait to see this song complete and staged and Remo joined by his four dancers! I think he will qualify! But let’s wait and see!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGsRTZ5sPcA

Ukraine – TVORCHI

I love TVORCHI and their song and their Amsterdam performance. They sounded really really good, I am a fan of their style of music, but I don’t see this entry winning. Let’s see another country winning this year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOFkzKOkc_k

United Kingdom – Mae Muller

Come on, she doesn’t sound as atrocious as most of the Twitter people claim. And at least she enjoys it and the crowd loves her! I hope she will do much better in Liverpool!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EMepsNxZUU

 

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news about the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool!

Photo: EurovisionInConcert

Netherlands: Eurovision in Concert 2023 takes place tonight in Amsterdam!

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Eurovision in Concert 2023 takes place in The Netherlands tonight , with 29 of this year’s entrants performing live.

The concert will be hosted by Cornald Maas and Hila Noorzai. Cornald has been the Dutch Eurovision commentator since 2006. Hila is a radio DJ and member of the committee that selected this year’s Dutch representatives (Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper). She also hosted the Eurovision 2021 press conference in Rotterdam.

The full line-up is as follows:

  1. Albania – Albina & Kelmendi Familija
  2. Armenia – Brunette
  3. Australia – Voyager
  4. Austria – Teya & Salena
  5. Azerbaijan – TuralTuranX
  6. Belgium – Gustaph
  7. Czechia – Vesna
  8. Denmark – Reiley
  9. Estonia – Alika
  10. Finland – Käärijä
  11. France – La Zarra
  12. Germany – Lord of the Lost
  13. Iceland – Diljá
  14. Ireland – Wild Youth
  15. Latvia – Sudden Lights
  16. Lithuania – Monika Linkytė
  17. Malta – The Busker
  18. Moldova – Pasha Parfeni
  19. The Netherlands – Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper
  20. Norway – Alessandra
  21. Romania – Theodor Andrei
  22. San Marino – Piqued Jacks
  23. Slovenia – Joker Out
  24. Spain – Blanca Paloma
  25. Sweden – Loreen
  26. Switzerland – Remo Forrer
  27. Ukraine – TVORCHI
  28. United Kingdom – Mae Muller

In addition, Katrina Leskanich (Eurovision 1997, UK, winner, “Love Shine a Light“) will  appear as a special guest.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news about the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool!

Ireland: Wild Youth go for a “big” and “bold” staging!

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Conor O’Donohoe, who is the lead singer of Wild Youth, this year’s representatives of Ireland, promised that their performance on Liverpool’s stage is going to be a “big and bold” one, during his interview for PA News Agency.

In addition, he also mentioned the following:

Our staging will be “big and bold”. We aren’t taking any shortcuts!

Conor O’Donohoe

Moreover, he also revealed that he is currently undergoing a health and training regime, cutting down junk food, in order to be fully fit on stage!

I’m definitely having to put down the McDonald’s and pick up the carrot sticks… I do my vocal lessons every day, and I listen to the song and then I run on a treadmill while I sing the songs.

Conor O’Donohoe

Wild Youth’s lead singer also commented on the procedure of composing “We Are One” and mentioned that he wanted to create a song which would live up to the whole Eurovision’s stature.

I wanted to write a song that could live up to the stature and the size of the stage and the arena and the scale of Eurovision.

Conor O’Donohoe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak5Fevs424Y

However, Ireland’s “We Are One” is not considered as a qualification’s favorite song from the first semi-final, until now, since it is currently placed at the lower slots of Eurovision’s odds.

Let’s keep in mind that Ireland still holds the record total of seven wins making it the country with the most victories in the Eurovision Song Contest!

Ireland is on the first half of the first semi-final on Tuesday May 9th.

Source: RTÉ

What do you think? Will Ireland manage to hold its record and qualify to the Grand Final? Stay tuned and share your opinion on the comments below!