LAST UPDATE | 12 Jan
FOUR OF THE six candidates for Ireland’s entry to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have now been announced.
Erica Cody, Ailsha, JyellowL and Isabella Kearney are among the hopefuls that will compete in the Eurosong contest to be held on 26 January during a special edition of The Late Late Show.
The staple of the Irish and European calendar is set to take place in Sweden on 11 May this year, after Eurovision 2023 saw Loreen win the contest for the second time.
Controversy surrounds the festival once again this year over the involvement of Israel, who will participate in this year’s song contest as usual. Some have called for a boycott of Eurovision, and RTÉ confirmed last week that they had received over 600 emails calling for it to pull out.
RTÉ has been clear that it intends to compete in this summer’s song contest. In a statement issued to The Journal last week, the national broadcaster said: “RTÉ has always approached the event in the spirit in which it was founded – which is a non-political contest designed to unite audiences and bring people together through a shared love of music and entertainment.”
As of Friday afternoon, all songs have now made their debut on The Ray D’Arcy Show, with D’Arcy interviewing each entrant.
Erica Cody – Love Me Like I Do
song 1: erica-cody - love me like i do
— adam ミ☆ (@loveurgirll) January 8, 2024
i fucking love this, this is cheesy disco pop done RIGHT. with a slight revamp on the choruses maybe and some more oomph in the dance break i can really see this having great potential, but those would just be added bonuses to what is… pic.twitter.com/bAVmWLvNqo
Erica Cody’s Love Me Like You Do was the first song to go public this week and is already creating a buzz online.
Videos featuring audio from the track have been pulled from YouTube ahead of the track’s official release on 23 January, but you can still hear a snippet of it above.
Cody has been a popular musician for over half a decade and in 2022 elevated her national profile when she reached the final of Dancing With The Stars. Immediately after her song was announcemed, bookies gave her very strong odds of 4/6 to represent Ireland at this summer’s song contest. Tweeting yesterday, Cody said: “I promise to deliver the biggest and best production possible. Eurosong is just a taste.”
Ailsha – Go Tobann!
Channeling the Irish Leaving Cert aural exam, Ailsha is seeking Eurovision glory with her track Go Tobann! The track is peppered with Irish phrases such as “Gabh mo leithscéal” and “An bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas”. So at least we’ll be letting Europe know what we’re all about.
The song has a chaotic, Celtic raucousness to it and heavily stylised vocals that will probably make for an intriguing stage show. A very ambitious attempt.
JyellowL – Judas
Two more songs were heard for the first time on The Ray D’Arcy show today. The first of these was Judas by JyellowL, a Dublin-based rapper whose success at the Eurosong would mark a major change from recent Irish entries which have veered between ballad, pop and soft rock.
Judas borrows additional star power from Irish singer-songwriter Gavin James, who wrote the song’s chorus (sung by Tosin Bankole).
JyellowL has already made a significant name for himself, however. His songs have featured in the (honestly pretty) prestigious FIFA soundtrack, as well as the television adaptation of Normal People, and his 2020 album D Vision was nominated for Irish Album of the Year 2020 at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Awards.
Isabella Kearney – Let Me Be The Fire
🇮🇪 SONG NUMBER 4
— 🇮🇪 SebRobben - SEBTalk 💋 (@SebTalkReacts) January 10, 2024
Isabella Kearney - Let Me Be The Fire #Eurosong2024 #Ireland #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/dJQVWQbzWW
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Isabella Kearney’s entry Let Me Be The Fire also made its debut today. While she may be living in the home of country-and-western music, Kearney has delivered a eurodance track that fits the standard Eurovision bill.
Kearney has flirted with pop stardom in the past, working with songwriters for Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Demi Lovato.
Bambie Thug – Doomsday Blue
Bambie Thug is like nothing Ireland has ever sent to Eurovision before. The singer, whose track Doomsday Blue is a genre-bending and witchy electro offering, has a singular style reminiscent of artists like Grimes.
The Cork-born artist is non-binary and picked up no fewer than one million streams on Spotify last year, suggesting a solid fanbase going into the Eurosong contest at the end of the month.
Next In Line – Love Like Us
🇮🇪: Eurosong 2024
— Esc Shane (@Esc_shane) January 12, 2024
Next In Line - Love Like Us
Official Audio #Eurovision2024 #ESC2024 #Eurosong2024 pic.twitter.com/rcqanOCrxm
The final act to be announced is Louis Walsh’s latest boyband, a group named Next In Line comprising Conor Davis, Joshua Regala, Conor O’Farrell, Neung Kelly and Harry O’Connell, all between the ages of 18-22.
Walsh has had great success in the past managing acts like Boyzone, Westlife and Jedward, so the young men will be hopeful they can be steered in the direction of Eurovision success. Their track Love Like Us aired for the first time ever on Ray D’Arcy’s radio show on Friday afternoon.
While Ireland remain joint all-time leaders for Eurovision wins, the country’s recent history has been uninspiring. Last year, rock four-piece Wild Youth failed to qualify for the final, continuing a run that has been broken only once in the last 10 years.
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