Eurovision : You Decide

Last night, I travelled to capital city to go and watch the UK Eurovision Final. For the first time since 2010, the British public were invited to vote for who they wanted to represent the UK in Stockholm on May 14th. The night didn't get off to the best of starts as the compere asked the crowd who they wanted to represent ENGLAND at the contest.

Cue confused boos...

However, six acts had made it through to the final, one of whom was chosen by the UK branch of Eurovision, OGAE UK. With the songs revealed at the beginning of the week on BBC Radio 2, there had been much discussion over who's contribution was the best, but come the live show, people's predictions seemed a distance off.

My friend Chris & I soaking up the
Eurovision atmosphere!

This was my first Eurovision national final, the first since 2010, where Josh Dubovie was left to pretty much fend for himself after being hung out to dry in Norway.

The six acts, fairly unknown to most of the British public no doubt, were Dulcima, Matthew James, Bianca, Karl Lund, Darline and Joe & Jake.

Being live at the event was an odd yet extremely enjoyable experience. Being broadcast live on the BBC, the event was very much made for TV, and bearing in mind 99.9% of the votes would be coming from those watching at home, I suppose that made perfect sense. Watching on live from behind the camera, here are what I thought of the six acts:


1) Dulcima - When You Go

Before the show began, this was one of my favourite songs. Not many people were behind me on this one, but I felt it offered something different to the usual tacky Eurovision cliché. Just like the main event, it's never great to be first up, and unfortunately, the live offering wasn't as good as I was hoping for.

It had a different folk and country twang to it, but they were just too nervous and you could feel it. It was a shame, but it was just an act that never had enough support behind it since Ken Bruce introduced it to us on Monday morning.




2) Matthew James - A Better Man

40/1 outsider Matthew James, mostly known for his part in the boy band 'Bad Boys Inc' in the early 1990's, showed us why he was an outsider with this. I have to be honest, the song was awful and I didn't particularly like his persona that much. He just seemed to get on my nerves, which may sound like an incredibly harsh opinion. But he did.

I have to be honest, I only saw the first half of his performance before I gave up and used the opportunity to go for a much-needed pee. Chris liked this song, but it wasn't for me and I don't think it was for a lot of people in the audience at the o2 Forum.


3) Darline - Until Tomorrow


So, after two very average offerings, I was really hoping this one from Darline would kick start the proceedings. It was the pre-show favourite and the audio we'd heard was pretty good. It's a decent song, even if the beginning immediately reminded me of The Common Linnets from last year.

I've just watched the performance on catch-up TV and, despite enjoying it in the arena, it really didn't sound good on the small screen. Again, you could notice the nervousness of the pair and the vocals didn't sound right. A shame, because I like the song and it sounded good live. Obviously, the voting public heard differently, and you can't disagree.



4. Karl William Lund - Miracle

The song chosen by OGAE, the UK branch of Eurovision was this offering from Liverpool's Karl Lund. OGAE members were lauding this song as the best we've had since 1997. Sorry. But no.

This is going to sound horrible, but I think whoever chose Karl at the OGAE chose him because he's a hot ginger. I can't see how the song inspires anyone at all. It starts off okay and you wait for it to kick off and spring into life but it never does. Three minutes of pure expectation of an increase in tempo, but it never comes. In fairness to Karl, he seems like one of the nicest people on the planet and reading his words post-show, it was obvious he was grateful for the opportunity. Just a shame the song didn't match up.



5) Bianca - Shine a Little Light


This was my favourite along with Dulcima before the show, but unlike the first act, Bianca really did bring her A-game. She had a cracking voice and great stage presence, receiving the biggest cheers of the night in the arena, (apart from Mans Zelmerlow pre-show!) and indeed the most favourable comments from the judging panel.

I thought this was nailed-on to win, but it didn't. We don't know how close the voting was, but I picked up my phone at the venue and voted for her. While my comment to her on Twitter about how songs about shining lights have a good history, (yes she liked it!) it just wasn't to be for Bianca in 2016.


6) Joe and Jake - You're Not Alone - WINNERS

Just in case you forget who's who...

We had to wait until the very end to hear the winning act, and on reflection, I'm pleased they won. Despite being only 20 and 21 years of age, their experience singing on TV showed, (they were both acts on The Voice UK). They were middle-of-the-road in the pre-show odds, with a catchy pop song to show off, but they performed it ever so well. I immediately received messages from friends watching on TV that they were by far the best, so the result came as no surprise. The lads, though obviously delighted, didn't go overboard with their celebrations either, acknowledging they have a lot of work to do if they are going to trouble the leaders in Stockholm.

Not only does the song have to be good, the staging and performance needs to match it. As we saw in Vienna last year, Mans Zelmerlow's relationship with his little graphic men was a big, big plus point. Joe and Jake know they will have to pull something out of the bag if they are to have any chance in May, but I will be backing them all the way.

With tonight being 'Super Saturday', where 7 nations choose their acts for the main event, we are not long from knowing every song that will be represented in May. I for one, cannot wait!