[LMBTO] Three Years of Eurovision: You Decide - What Next for the UK?

Jury SF1 - the closest I got to SuRie and one of the two run throughs for her where she was left to perform unmolested, although three of her diamond props weren't working that night.  A portend of things to come?  What happened on that Saturday night will now go down in Eurovision history and arguably make "Storm" more memorable than it might have been on its own:



If it wasn't for the moron who stole the microphone out of her hand and the kerfuffle that ensued, shaking up SuRie plus many other fans in the Arena and consigning Serbia's entry immediately afterwards to 'that song that was ignored by those conversing about the stage invasion', the UK entry this year would probably stay as another addition to the list of those 19 songs that haven't made much of an impression on Eurovision this century:




If we break down the stats post-2015, when Electro Velvet gave us our second lowest points total (5) and a 24th placing, the point when the UK delegation changed tack and went back to a NF, we have had the following placings:


As far as positions are concerned, not much has changed.  2016 would have been seen as the first year of the new process, a period to let things bed in.  Last year was viewed as a major step in the right direction - the best result since Blue in 2011 and the highest points total since Jade Ewan in 2009 (although the scoring was different).  It is totally understandable for the powers that be at the BBC to believe that this was only going to go one way and that having yet another NF in 2018 was a no brainer.  Brighton saw the best artist, vocal and performance win and SuRie was deservedly the UK's representative in Lisbon.  Unfortunately our finish in 2018 has taken us a step backwards - we had minimal jury support (23rd with 23 points) and effectively the same televote (25 points and 21st).  Having heard SuRie chat with ReLoadSessions and now be totally clued up on her mindset after what happened at the Altice, it was probably the best decision not to sing again - a second attempt might have garnered a bigger total of public votes but probably not be good enough to take her out of the bottom five:
Our representative this year was possibly the most experienced artist we have ever had as far as Eurovision performances are concerned, 2018 being her third Contest.  SuRie was phenomenal on those Brighton and Altice stages, giving her all with her onstage choreography and audience connection - even the Lisbon staging sort of worked, a valiant attempt to cut down on the huge space around this diminutive figure.  The main downside, as we have really all known right from the first time that we heard the UK entry, was the song itself in as far as it never had a immediate hook - with repeated listens it really stuck in your brain, as was demonstrated by every diehard Eurovision fan of every nationality in the Altice singing along with SuRie whenever she sung live there.  First listen, not so much - that we all know is fatal at the Contest itself....
Could anyone else at the NF done any better in Lisbon?  As I said above, on that night in Brighton there was no contest - SuRie was the best in the venue and on tv.  Of the other five entries that night, four of them were 'born' out of the same songwriting stable.  What I only learnt afterwards (yes, I'm still learning about the music industry) was that all the artists were selected after the songs were submitted to the BBC delegation, those tracks chosen on the back of demo artists singing them all, something that is obviously common practice.  Judging by at least one of the vocal performances on the night, I suspect that the demo singer would have made a better job of singing it live, although even they might have struggled doing so with the routine provided:



No way to tell how well it might have done in Portugal, of course but 'Legends' did have something different about it and was one of those four from the same writing team.  It was also the one that they felt stood out most and, based on the studio version, had the best chance of success - unfortunately on the night Asanda's dreams all fell apart.
There were two other options that the UK delegation potentially had offered to them, apart from continuing down the NF path - Saara Aalto was in early talks with the BBC about representing the UK (as confirmed in my interview with her), as was Cesár Sampson (along with his song "Nobody But You") but the sticking point with both options appears to have been that the BBC had already decided that a NF was the way to go in 2018.  Neither Saara nor the composers of what ended up being Austria's entry wanted that so Finland were able to have their NF 'of sorts' and Cesár went straight to Lisbon.  Missed opportunities perhaps but were the BBC committed to a NF whatever?  Did the two Eurovision stars require more backing than a public service broadcaster could provide?  Did the BBC want too much involvement in the song or the staging behind the entries?  All suppositions on my part - what we do know was that both singers were linked with the UK...
So what might we in the UK get for Israel 2019?  The one thing we do have at the moment is a lot more uncertainty than we had at this time last year - in 2017 after Lucie's 15th placing in Kyiv, there was a lot of positivity behind the scenes, so much so that at this time last year, UK songwriting camps were already being organised for September, the Copenhagen one involving a certain someone we all now recognise:



From what I can gather as far as the songwriting industry is concerned, the same level of confidence and positive thinking is not there this year - what happened in Lisbon has left a lot of people behind the scenes deflated and needing some time to take stock.  No songwriting camps have been organised yet, at least not for UK entries, until what is happening next year is confirmed.  There isn't even the certainty of a UK NF at this moment in time, although that would be the 'safest option' for the UK delegation and BBC Eurovision.  I have been led to believe that there is a new BBC boss (above the HoD) whose remit includes Eurovision - will that make a difference as to what happens in 2019?  A fourth 'Eurovision: You Decide' (EYD) is one option but we have had some artists putting their names forward and sort of ruling themselves out within the first month of the 'close season'...
JOWST came in like a crashing wave immediately after Lisbon, offering his services to the UK and chatting to lots of interested parties, including me.  Will there be a successful collaboration between him and a notable singer?  Only time will tell although it would almost certainly not be Robbie Williams:



He's looking at Eurovision as Justin Timberlake will have done, as an occasion to promote an upcoming single or album to 180-220m people but not to participate himself.  He is headlining the 2018 World Cup Opening Ceremony so he still sees himself as being on the 'guest star' list.  The other 'usual suspect' putting themselves forward was James Blunt, who mentioned yet again during an interview in Estonia that he would be prepared to be the UK artist if asked by the delegation:


This is something that he has said before but there must be a reason why he's not been approached - mustn't there?  I am assuming that, unlike JOWST and apparently also Karl William Lund from EYD 2016:
James Blunt would not want to be involved in a EYD style NF, the current sticking point for all established mainstream artists.  I have not heard anyone ask him specifically how he would be prepared to put himself forward for the UK - internal selection only?  A 'Saara Aalto UMK special' of him singing a number of songs to be voted on, perhaps?  I would personally love to see him appear, mainly because of his singing ability, his songwriting creativity and his onstage persona but also for his social media/PR skills which put him in a category all of his own.  To be fair, that side of things has been covered wonderfully well by Lucie and SuRie but having an artist such as him involved would give something that we in the UK haven't had since Blue in 2011 - prior star quality and worldwide recognisability.  Having the backing of a record label who would help promote the act and associated song in territories across Eurovision wouldn't hurt either.
Blue have themselves been trying to push Steps (who they are touring with at the moment) forward for the Contest but unless H (the only keen member) can convince the others of that band, that idea is a total non-starter.  Of course, if having the immediate support of Eurovision fandom is the BBC's plan, letting a certain lady return to sing in Israel would go down a treat:
During an Instagram chat a fortnight ago, SuRie herself said that she would do Eurovision again and that she 'sneakily' signed the petition to get the 'powers that be' (Helen Riddell, Head of Delegation) to give her another chance at the show. As of then, she hadn't heard anything from the BBC - it does seem as though most acts recently are left to their own devices fairly quickly after they touch down at whatever airport they arrive back at in the UK.  Of any past artist, I would be more than happy to see this lady have another go, safe in the knowledge that her performance wouldn't be interrupted again (we will be in Israel after all).  She has everything going for her although she would need a more 'instantly memorable' song this time...

My thoughts on what might happen?  I have this feeling at the moment that there might well be a shake-up of all things to do with UK qualification - so much so that I wonder if we'll have another NF in 2019.  The bods at the top of the BBC will only see that a one-off show each year has provided no long term improvement in finishing positions at Eurovision.  Unlike Eurovision itself, which is cheap for what it costs for three tv shows in May, perhaps the money put into the production of a NF could be better spent on another programme for that one night in January/February that will garner higher market share as far as tv viewing figures are concerned.  It will all depend upon who makes the decisions - does the Corporation now make a strategy decision for EYD to continue, in the hope that it builds the fanbase, the viewership and a link into a bigger future for the Contest in the UK or will they decide that 'enough is enough' and find somebody to do all the work for them, providing their talent, song and staging for wherever in Israel the next Contest will be?
If we do get a fourth installment of Eurovision: You Decide then we really need either 'edgier' or at least more contemporary entries, not a lot of safe ones.  If all we in the UK have to choose from are relatively 'middle of the road' songs that appeal to nobody in particular then we are destined to never move out of the bottom third of the Final leaderboard.  Will we ever get anything out of the ordinary at the UK NF?  "Legends" was probably the most "out there" track that I can think of out of those we have seen at the three EYDs - let's have more of that ilk please...

If the BBC do go the internal route, I would have to go with this guy:
If us punters aren't involved in the decision making for at least a year, let's call James Blunt and take him up on his 'offer', letting him do whatever he wants in getting himself, his song and his PR ready for Israel.  It will be an entertaining ride, the rest of the Eurovision world will be abuzz from the day he is announced as our artist to at least when his song is revealed and his 'name' alone should pretty much guarantee only the third top ten finish we have had in the 21st Century.  If the song is top notch too, maybe a reversal in fortunes of the magnitude of Germany this year could also be on the cards for the UK in 2019.

So what might we in the UK end up with next year?


At this present moment in time, perhaps Helen Riddell is the only one who knows for certain...