Rhys and Hacker in a Eurovision radio show?
Must be the UK back at Junior Eurovision!
Yes, that is correct - 2022 has been a golden year for the United Kingdom. Not only do we end up second in Turin due to Sam Ryder but also, after SEVENTEEN years, the UK will be at:
Totally out of the blue and yet another reason to be more involved with the Junior version of the Contest. Wales did us proud in 2018 and 2019 but it is amazing that the BBC have decided to take the UK as a whole back to JESC. Here is the link direct to the CBBC reveal...
I hope that CBBC use this opportunity to get their audience clued into the Contest straight away, so that we have a generation of new fans with positive vibes for the whole experience, rather than what has happened for almost 25 years with the 'Great British Public' being totally jaundiced towards anything called 'Eurovision'. A good result in Yerevan will help too but articles like this one from escBubble should be distributed far and wide to spread the word:
An internal selection looks likely through Buzz Talent and I will let you know via the show when more information is forthcoming. The very least I could do at this moment was play all three of the UK JESC entries from 2003-5 and the two Welsh ones on the show:
And the playlist?
"My Song For The World" - Tom Morley
"The Best Is Yet To Come" - Cory Spedding
"How Does It Feel?" - Joni Fuller
"Perta" - Manw
"Calon yn Curo" - Erin Mai
"Cry Baby" - Jemini
"Dai Boh" - alyona alyona x Jerry Heil x Monika Liu
"Гімн України (Anthem Of Ukraine)" - Tina Karol
"10 Years" - Daði og Gagnamagnið
"King" - Rosa Linn & Kiiara
"I Feed You My Love" - Margaret Berger
"Sound Of Silence" - Dami Im
"I'm A Joker" - Anri Jokhadze
"Zar ne" - Sara Jo
"The Way You Are" - Anti-Social Media
"De la capăt" - Voltaj
"Eyes Talk" - Demy, Thomas Sykes & Arpad
"Raddirnar" - Greta Salóme
"Det Är Slut" - Hanna Ferm
"like we're wired" - MARO
"Savvaļas Pusē" - Aminata
"Kill For You" - Luka
"365" - Barbara Pravi
It was a pleasant change to start with five JESC entries on LET ME BE THE ONE, especially ones that had no been on the show before - the other main special segment was the next installment of the LMBTO's Nation Favourite. Who was the winner from Australia? It was a competitive week but in the end, one singer held onto her lead:
Yes, Dami Im's "Sound Of Silence" kept ahead of Kate Miller-Heidke to become the Australian favourite of the show. The nice thing about this one was that every entry go at least one vote:
Dami and Kate out in front, Jessica and Guy next up and then the rest with at least one of two fans liking them. 48 voters this time, showing that Australia is a very popular Eurovision nation - here's hoping that the next nation, Slovakia, gets the same amount of love!
Onto the other items that were mentioned during show 212 - first the initial proposed staging for Lithuania's entry in Turin:
Onto the other items that were mentioned during show 212 - first the initial proposed staging for Lithuania's entry in Turin:
Totally fascinating what we missed seeing due to that stupid kinetic arch not moving quickly enough! Having said that, as I said on the show, I feel that this did Monika Liu a huge favour in much the same way as the LED screen not being their for STEFAN and Estonia. We got a version of "Sentimentai" more like the National Final as far as staging and choreography was concerned, with Monika able to show off her incredible stagecraft and charisma to the crowd and cameras. THAT was what got Lithuania to the Final and hardly any backdrop was needed - it was still interesting to show what we might have got though.
Today Ukraine marks 31 years since it gained independence.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 24, 2022
To honour the anniversary and as a tribute to the Ukrainian people, the @ScotsGuardsBand performed the winning @Eurovision entry, 'Stefania', on Horse Guards Parade. 🇺🇦🇬🇧@ArmyInLondon#StandWithUkraine#StandForFreedompic.twitter.com/mUC5k07tC4
The items that related to Ukraine were something to behold to and needed the article's ability to link to social media. Could we be seeing the germ of an idea for an interval act next year with The Scots Guards playing "Stefania", perhaps with KALUSH ORCHESTRA too? The AR of Tina Karol singing the Ukrainian National Anthem is a must see to via this link:
There will be so much material from Ukraine and the UK on the show over the next ten months due to the unique situation we find ourselves in - stay on board for the ride! The last item to mention was linking into the ticket section of a gig from the most successful Eurovision artist AFTER Turin:
If only I had more notice, I might have gone to this one as well but at least I had the opportunity to see her perform live in Amsterdam. Her and Sam Ryder are the big news from 2022 - I hope that her follow up material keeps her in the public eye world-wide. We could have yet another mega-star on out hands...
Show 213 is the first of the new Eurovision Year, if like me you start it when the EBU do (any song on September 1st or later could be a Eurovision song). The Slovakian winner of the 'LMBTO's Nation Favourite' will be played on the show, along with whoever was wearing this outfit in the Masked Singer Australia...
Listen in next week to find out
who was Snapdragon!