Latest news with #EurovisionSongContests
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
What next for Ireland after failing to reach Eurovision final for eighth time in 10 years?
It had been hoped Ryan O'Shaughnessy's qualification in 2018 could turn the tide after four years stuck in the semi-finals, but Ireland – still barely holding onto the joint record for the highest number of wins – returned to the wilderness for six more years until Bambie Thug again raised the nation's hopes last year. The 'ouija pop' artist finished in sixth place, the first top 10 result since Jedward were so good in 2011 that we sent them again the following year. However, the new dawn presented by Bambie Thug went behind another cloud last night, as it was revealed Ireland would not be heading to the grand final in Basel. Where did it all go wrong for the country that once won the contest three times in a row – and will we ever again manage to merely qualify three times in a row? The Irish delegation has been led by Michael Kealy since 2013, who has shared his thoughts on the country's Eurovision finish each year. Here is what he has said after each of the last seven Eurovision Song Contests – from what worked to what didn't. 2024 – Bambie Thug finishes sixth in the final with Doomsday Blue A memorable performance in Malmo landed Bambie Thug in top ten, Kealy hoping their success could be the beginning of 'a renaissance period' for Ireland. 'I always thought we were only one great artist and one great song away from a good result,' he said, praising the 'powerful team' and 'clear idea' that Bambie had. 'It is not that we [RTÉ] have had a different attitude to the contest, it's not. [It's because] a great artist comes out of nowhere… and has a vision that connects with people.' 2023 – Wild Youth fails to qualify with We Are One Band Wild Youth did not crack the code to qualification in Liverpool, with their song We Are One not making it past the semi-final. ADVERTISEMENT In the aftermath, Kealy said he 'would agree' that Ireland's selection process should be separated from The Late Late Show, He told RTÉ's The Ray D'Arcy Show that RTÉ has been 'chronically underfunded' for decades, which 'shows particularly when it comes to us putting on entertainment shows'. "When it comes to entertainment, you need scale to make it look as impressive as a show that you would see in other European countries, and the truth is our facilities in RTÉ are not sufficient to mount shows like that." 2022 – Brooke Scullion fails to qualify with That's Rich! It was a surprise when Brooke Scullion, with her catchy pop song That's Rich!, did not qualify in Italy in 2022. Kealy said the singer had reached the high standard needed to succeed in a tough competition, but told The Irish Sun that she potentially lost out in the jury vote. Six professional juries from the second semi-final were removed that year due to irregular voting patterns. 2021 – Lesley Roy fails to qualify with Maps Singer Lesley Roy had a second chance at Eurovision in 2021 after the contest was cancelled due to the pandemic the year before, but it was not to be. She later said there had been technical issues before the performance. 2019 – Sarah McTernan fails to qualify with 22 A catchy track did not translate to success in Tel Aviv in 2019 and while McTernan put in a strong performance, Kealy said going on stage in the 'notoriously difficult' number two slot had been a challenge. "But that's the breaks. It's a tough, tough competition, it's not as easy as it once was, there are over 40 countries taking part, it's a difficult, difficult competition and it attracts top professionals from around Europe,' he said. "Other countries plough in huge resources into the competition which unfortunately a small broadcaster like RTÉ just doesn't have so we have to be clever with what we do with the limited resources we have.' 2018 – Ryan O'Shaughnessy finishes 16th in final with Together A strong finish by Ryan O'Shaughnessy in Portugal in 2018 marked some progress for Ireland in the Eurovision, with Kealy saying his success helped boost entries to the represent Ireland the following year. 2017 – Brendan Murray fails to qualify with Dying to Try A hot air balloon on stage in Kyiv did not raise Ireland's chances with Murray's song, with Kealy saying he was 'devastated' for the singer. He added: "I'm not sure people appreciate how hard it is to qualify these days – it's a completely different competition to how it was when we used to win back in the 90s.'
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
What next for Ireland after failing to reach Eurovision final for eighth time in ten years
It had been hoped that Ryan O'Shaughnessy's qualification in 2018 could turn the tide after four years stuck in the semi-finals, but Ireland – still barely holding onto the joint record for the highest number of wins – returned to the wilderness for six more years until Bambie Thug again raised the nation's hopes. The 'ouija pop' artist achieved a sixth place finish last year, the first top ten result since Jedward were so good in 2011 that we sent them again the following year. However, the new dawn presented by Bambie Thug went behind another cloud last night, as it was revealed Ireland will not be heading to the grand final in Basel. Where did it all go wrong for the country that once won the contest three times in a row – and will we ever again manage to merely qualify three times in a row? The Irish delegation has been led by Michael Kealy since 2013, who has shared his thoughts on the country's Eurovision finish each year. Here is what he has said after each of the last seven Eurovision Song Contests – from what worked to what didn't. 2024 – Bambie Thug finishes sixth in the final with 'Doomsday Blue' A memorable performance in Malmo landed Bambie Thug in top ten, with RTÉ's head of delegation hoping their success could be the beginning of 'a renaissance period' for Ireland. 'I always thought we were only one great artist and one great song away from a good result,' he said, praising the 'powerful team' and 'clear idea' that Bambie had. 'It is not that we [RTÉ] have had a different attitude to the contest, it's not. [It's because] a great artist comes out of nowhere… and has a vision that connects with people.' 2023 – Wild Youth fails to qualify with 'We Are One' Band Wild Youth did not crack the code to qualification in Liverpool, with their song 'We Are Young' not making it past the semi-final. In the aftermath, Mr Kealy said he 'would agree' that Ireland's selection process should be separated from The Late Late Show, He told RTÉ's The Ray D'Arcy Show that RTÉ has been 'chronically underfunded' for decades, which 'shows particularly when it comes to us putting on entertainment shows'. "When it comes to entertainment, you need scale to make it look as impressive as a show that you would see in other European countries, and the truth is our facilities in RTÉ are not sufficient to mount shows like that." 2022 – Brooke Scullion fails to qualify with 'That's Rich!' It was a surprise when Brooke Scullion, with her catchy pop song 'That's Rich!', did not qualify in Italy in 2022. Mr Kealy said the singer had reached the high standard needed to succeed in a tough competition, but told The Irish Sun that she potentially lost out in the jury vote. Six professional juries from the second semi-final were removed that year due to irregular voting patterns. 2021 – Lesley Roy fails to qualify with 'Maps' Singer Lesley Roy had a second chance at Eurovision in 2021 after the contest was cancelled due to the pandemic the year before, but it was not to be. She later said there had been technical issues before the performance. 2019 – Sarah McTernan fails to qualify with '22' A catchy track did not translate to success in Tel Aviv in 2019 and while McTernan put in a strong performance, Mr Kealy said going on stage in the 'notoriously difficult' number two slot was a challenge. "But that's the breaks. It's a tough, tough competition, it's not as easy as it once was, there are over 40 countries taking part, it's a difficult, difficult competition and it attracts top professionals from around Europe,' he said. "Other countries plough in huge resources into the competition which unfortunately a small broadcaster like RTÉ just doesn't have so we have to be clever with what we do with the limited resources we have.' 2018 – Ryan O'Shaughnessy finishes 16th in final with 'Together' A strong finish by Ryan O'Shaughnessy in Portugal in 2018 marked some progress for Ireland in the Eurovision, with Mr Kealy saying his success helped boost entries to the represent Ireland the following year. 2017 – Brendan Murray fails to qualify with 'Dying to Try' A hot air balloon on stage in Kyiv did not raise Ireland's chances with Murray's song, with Mr Kealy saying he was 'devastated' for the singer. He added: "I'm not sure people appreciate how hard it is to qualify these days - it's a completely different competition to how it was when we used to win back in the Nineties.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Israel Eurovision Contestanta Performs Without Incident at Semi-Finals
Israel's Eurovision entrant Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack at Nova Music Festival, had her performance go off relatively without a hitch on the broadcast for the contest's semi-finals in Basel, Switzerland, Thursday night, shirking even her own expectations as she and many were preparing for loud boos as her country's inclusion in Eurovision has drawn controversy amid the war in Gaza. Raphael was one of 10 contestants from Thursday's semi-final to punch their ticket to the finals, alongside Lithuania's Katarsis, Armenia's PARG, Denmark's Sissal, Austria's JJ, Luxembourg's Laura Thorn, Finland's Erika Vikman, Latvia's Tautumeitas, Malta's Miriana Conte and Greece's Klavdia. More from The Hollywood Reporter Smokey Robinson Under Criminal Investigation After Sexual Assault Allegations Sean "Diddy" Combs Overdosed on Night of Playboy Mansion Party in 2012, His Ex-Partner Reveals at Trial Lorde Reveals She Discussed Her "Broadening" Gender Identity With Chappell Roan They will join Iceland's Vaeb, Poland's Justyna Steczkowska, Estonia's Tommy Cash, Ukraine's Ziferblat, Sweden's KAJ, Portugal's Napa, Norway's Kyle Alessandro, San Marino's Gabry Ponte, Albania's Shkodra Elektronike,and Netherland's Claude. Eurovision's finals will air on Saturday at noon PST on Peacock. Israel's presence at the contest has been a controversial subject at the past two Eurovision Song Contests amid the war in Gaza, as over 70 former contestants signed an open letter last week calling for Israel to be banned from the event citing 'genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people.' The broadcast itself showed little beyond Raphael's performance of the song 'New Day Will Rise' and the cheers that followed. Some photos and videos circulating online show a smattering of attendees in the audience holding up Palestinian flags. Israel's Eurovision presence drew protests ahead of the semi-finals as well. Critics have argued that Israel should be banned from the contest, as Russia was back in 2022 over its invasion of Ukraine. While the broadcast didn't show protests, some images online from Thursday's rehearsals showed attendees in the audience waving Palestinian flags while Raphael performed. Raphael has spoken publicly about her experience at Nova, telling the UN Human Rights Council last year that she fled to a bomb shelter the day of the attack, hiding under dead bodies while she herself pretended to be dead for hours until her father and another Nova attendee saved her. 'Every time we [those who were still alive] raised our heads, we couldn't understand why there were less and less people in the bomb shelter,' she told the UN. 'We thought the terrorists were taking the dead bodies. We didn't realize it was because of the grenades, blowing up their bodies.' Last year's Israel entrant Eden Golan was booed during her Eurovision performance, and Raphael told the BBC earlier this week that she'd practiced with boos and noises in the background preparing for Thursday. 'I think I'm expecting it, but we are here to sing and I'm going to sing my heart out for everyone,' Raphael said. Outside of Thursday's semi-final, Celine Dion made a surprise video appearance on Tuesday during the first semi-final, 37 years after she won Eurovision in 1988. 'Music unites us, not only this evening, not only at the moment,' Dion said in French. 'Wonderful. It is our strength, our support and our support in the moments where we need it. I love you all, Europe and the rest of the world, of course. Kisses, I love you.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
