Latest news with #Jedward
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Eurovision stars unrecognisable as they secretly go undercover backstage at this year's contest
Avid Eurovision fans were left shocked when they discovered an iconic duo secretly undercover backstage ahead of the highly anticipated final. Unrecognisable behind their baggy outfits, beards and wigs, the pair are identical Irish twins John and Edward Grimes, better known as Jedward, who skyrocketed to fame after appearing in the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009. The 33-year-old pop icons later went on to represent Ireland at Eurovision in both 2011 and 2012. In 2011, Jedward finished in eighth place, earning 119 points, with their song Lipstick, followed by a 19th place finish in 2012 that saw them gain 46 points for their song Waterline. Now, as the countdown is on for Eurovision's Saturday-night final, the duo have been pictured in disguise, surprising two superfans backstage on set in Basel, Switzerland. Wearing prosthetic noses, fake beards and wigs, the pair were a world away from their usual well-known appearance of bleach blonde quiffs and sparkly outfits. In an Instagram video that shares the 'most iconic transformation ever', Edward, sat in a makeup chair, declares: 'Next time you see us we won't be Jedward, but we will be somebody'. As the countdown is on for Eurovision's Saturday-night final, the pop duo have been pictured in disguise. surprising two superfans backstage on set in Basel, Switzerland. He then turns to Edward, in the process of getting his prosthetic nose fitted, and asks: 'Do you think these superfans are going to know it's us?' The two fans that Jedward were hoping to fool appeared not to catch on that their favourite pop stars were disguised as members of staff backstage, with one of the band members, fitted with a headset, even jokingly asking a fan for their phone as they had been taking pictures. Later on, the pair could barely contain their shock as the Irish duo later removed their wigs to reveal their famous bright blonde hair. Taking to Instagram to reflect on the unique experience, one of the surprised fans commented: 'This was hilarious, you really got us' while the other remarked: 'I was THIS close to giving him my phone, he as that convincincing'. Other social media users appeared just as amazed by the incredible disguise, with one commenter praising the 'amazing transformation', adding: 'Genuinely would never know it was you!! New metal band coming soon'. Meanwhile, another said: 'This is hilarious! What a great surprise it turned out to be you!' The Eurovision final is set to air at on BBC1 this Saturday, with the remaining semi-final contest taking place this evening as the remaining nations vie for a place in the prestigious finale. Featuring performances from the UK's entry Remember Monday, alongside contestants from Austria, France, Israel and Australia, it will be hosted by Rylan and Scott Mills. Despite backlash surrounding Israel's inclusion in the competition, Yuval Raphael, 24, is set to represent the nation with her song New Day Will Rise at this year's contest, having survived the horrific October 7 attacks just 18 months ago. Girl group Remember Monday, made up of best friends Lauren Byrne, Charlotte Steele and Holly-Anne Hull, are set to perform their song 'What The Hell Just Happened?' and will be hoping to do better than last year's UK entrant Olly Alexander who sadly received zero points from the public during the 2023 final with his song Dizzy. When previously asked what his advice to the next Eurovision entrant would be, Olly said ' Get a good therapist '. As last year's winners, Switzerland are guaranteed a spot in the Grand Final, alongside Italy, Spain, the UK, France and Germany, who all make up the 'Big Five' countries. On Tuesday, the first Eurovision semi-final took place, with 10 countries: Sweden, Norway, Albania, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, San Marino, Estonia, Portugal and Ukraine, all qualifying. The show was dramatic as ever, featuring a stage invader, a broadcasting malfunction, alongside a wholesome appearance from Eurovision icon Celine Dion, 57. However, fans were left dismayed after Cyprus and Belgium were booted out of the competition, taking to X to share their dismay. One upset Belgium fan said: 'I try to be as objective as possible, but I genuinely can't find a single reason for why Belgium didn't qualify!?!?!?!?' 'NO WAY IS THIS A EUROVISION NON QUALIFIER???? JUSTICE FOR BELGIUM #Eurovision.' At the end of the show, Celine Dion left fans in floods of tears as she made a rare appearance via video call. The singer famously won the contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the winning number Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi. Making an emotional return to the song contest, Celine shared some advice ahead of the anticipated final, seemingly ruling out an appearance in this year's final after speculation she would be performing amid her battle with stiff person syndrome. She said: 'I'd love nothing more than to be with you. Switzerland will forever hold a special place in my heart. 'It's the country that believed in me and gave me the chance to be part of something so extraordinary. 'Winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988, it was a life-changing moment for me and I'm so thankful for everyone who supported me. 'Now, 37 years later, I know. It's so beautiful and emotional to see Switzerland winning and hosting this incredible event once again. 'To the people of Switzerland, thank you for your love. This night is yours and I hope you feel as proud as I do.'
Scottish Sun
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Eurovision legends look unrecognisable as they go backstage at contest – can you tell who they are?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EUROVISION fans will be left doing a double take when they find out who these legends are. The pop duo have been captured on camera heading backstage at this year's event and they are barely recognisable. 5 These Eurovision stars look unrecognisable backstage in Basel Credit: Instagram 5 No one recognised them while they were in disguise Credit: INSTAGRAM The lads in question are Irish twins Jedward, who found fame on The X Factor in 2009. John and Edward Grimes went on to represent Ireland twice at Eurovision, making history. Jedward have now been pictured in disguise while backstage at this year's Eurovision, which is being held in Basel, Switzerland. The brothers donned wigs, prosthetic noses and fake beards, and dressed in grungy clothes - which is world's away from their usual squeaky clean pop star appearance. One even added a fake lip ring and their iconic blonde quiffs were nowhere to be seen. Sharing a snap on Jedward's Instagram account, they said: "Can't believe we got to be in disguise at Eurovision. "New hair, noses, hairy beards and lip piercing. No one had a clue it was us. Felt normal for once. It was a crazy experience." The lads also shared a video of themselves as they got into their disguises. Jedward's stunt was all part of a ploy to surprise two Jedward superfans, who had won a trip to the Eurovision set in Basel. They were surprised by John and Edward while being given a tour. Rylan makes VERY awkward gaffe during first live Eurovision semi-final Jedward remarked on Instagram: "The most iconic transformation ever." John and Edward were dubbed Louis Walsh's 'joke' act when he put them through on The X Factor 16 years ago. But he had the last laugh. Jedward went on to make history when they represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in both 2011 and 2012. In 2011, they finished in eighth place with their song Lipstick. It earned them 119 points. The following year they didn't fare so well, finishing in 19th place with 46 points for Waterline. The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025 will air on BBC One on Saturday night. Representing the UK this year is Remember Monday. The trio is made up of best friends Charlotte, Holly and Lauren and they will be performing their song What The Hell Just Happened?. Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025, 8pm, BBC One, Saturday May 17 5 The singers behind the disguises were Jedward Credit: Instagram 5 Jedward represented Ireland at Eurovision in 2011 Credit: EPA
The Sun
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Eurovision legends look unrecognisable as they go backstage at contest – can you tell who they are?
EUROVISION fans will be left doing a double take when they find out who these legends are. The pop duo have been captured on camera heading backstage at this year's event and they are barely recognisable. 5 5 The lads in question are Irish twins Jedward, who found fame on The X Factor in 2009. John and Edward Grimes went on to represent Ireland twice at Eurovision, making history. Jedward have now been pictured in disguise while backstage at this year's Eurovision, which is being held in Basel, Switzerland. The brothers donned wigs, prosthetic noses and fake beards, and dressed in grungy clothes - which is world's away from their usual pop star threads. One even added a fake lip ring and their iconic blonde quiffs were nowhere to be seen. Sharing a snap on Jedward's Instagram account, they said: "Can't believe we got to be in disguise at Eurovision. "New hair, noses, hairy beards and lip piercing. No one had a clue it was us. Felt normal for once. It was a crazy experience." The lads also shared a video of themselves as they got into their disguises. Jedward's stunt was all part of a ploy to surprise two Jedward superfans, who had won a trip to the Eurovision set in Basel. They were surprised by John and Edward while being given a tour. Rylan makes VERY awkward gaffe during first live Eurovision semi-final Jedward remarked on Instagram: "The most iconic transformation ever." John and Edward were dubbed Louis Walsh 's 'joke' act when he put them through on The X Factor 16 years ago. But he had the last laugh. Jedward went on to make history when they represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in both 2011 and 2012. In 2011, they finished in eighth place with their song Lipstick. It earned them 119 points. The following year they didn't fare so well, finishing in 19th place with 46 points for Waterline. The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025 will air on BBC One on Saturday night. Representing the UK this year is Remember Monday. The trio is made up of best friends Charlotte, Holly and Lauren and they will be performing their song What The Hell Just Happened?. Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025, 8pm, BBC One, Saturday May 17 5 5 5
The Irish Sun
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Eurovision legends look unrecognisable as they go backstage at contest – can you tell who they are?
EUROVISION fans will be left doing a double take when they find out who these legends are. The pop duo have been captured on camera heading backstage at this year's event and they are barely recognisable. 5 These Eurovision stars look unrecognisable backstage in Basel Credit: Instagram 5 No one recognised them while they were in disguise Credit: INSTAGRAM The lads in question are Irish twins Jedward, who found fame on The X Factor in 2009. John and Edward Grimes went on to represent Ireland twice at Eurovision, making history . Jedward have now pictured themselves in disguise while backstage at this year's Eurovision, which is being held in Basel, Switzerland. The brothers donned wigs, prosthetic noses and fake beards, and dressed in grungy clothes - which is world's away from their usual pop star threads . READ MORE ON EUROVISION One even added a fake lip ring and their iconic blonde quiffs were nowhere to be seen. Sharing a snap on Jedward's Instagram account, they said: "Can't believe we got to be in disguise at Eurovision. "New hair , noses, hairy beards and lip piercing. No one had a clue it was us. Felt normal for once. It was a crazy experience." The lads also shared a video of themselves as they got into their disguises. Most read in Showbiz Jedward's stunt was all part of a ploy to surprise two Jedward superfans, who had won a trip to the Eurovision set in Basel. They were surprised by John and Edward while being given a tour. Rylan makes VERY awkward gaffe during first live Eurovision semi-final Jedward remarked on Instagram: "The most iconic transformation ever." John and Edward were dubbed Louis Walsh's 'joke' act when he put them through on The X Factor 16 years ago. But he had the last laugh. Jedward went on to make history when they represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in both 2011 and 2012. In 2011, they finished in eighth place with their song Lipstick. It earned them 119 points. The following year they didn't fare so well, finishing in 19th place with 46 points for Waterline. The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025 will air on BBC One on Saturday night. Representing the UK this year is Remember Monday. The trio is made up of best friends Charlotte, Holly and Lauren and they will be performing their song What The Hell Just Happened?. Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2025, 8pm, BBC One, Saturday May 17 5 The singers behind the disguises were Jedward Credit: Instagram 5 Jedward represented Ireland at Eurovision in 2011 Credit: EPA 5 They made history when they represented their country again the following year Credit: Getty Images - Getty
RTÉ News
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
How the cost of the 1971 Eurovision nearly sank RTÉ
Analysis: The station's decision to film the 1971 Eurovision in colour led to programme cutbacks and cancellations By Morgan Wait, TCD I've heard the line 'sure, we can't send anyone good to the Eurovision, we can't afford to win!' at least 1,000 times since I moved to Ireland. This has been used to explain both Jedward and Dustin the Turkey to me. As Jedward have proven themselves to be adept advocates for social justice in recent years, and "Lipstick", to be fair, should have won, I don't need much more explanation there. I do, however, still have some questions about Dustin... As we ramp up for the contest this year, and weigh Ireland's prospects against the other entries, I've been thinking a lot about the old joke. As a television historian, I have been thinking a lot too about the time when the cost of the Eurovision nearly did sink RTÉ. The year was 1971. Dana's "All Kinds of Everything" had won the 1970 contest and RTÉ was readying itself to hold the following year's contest in Dublin. Dana's song was Ireland's first winner in the contest's then 14 year history. She thus became the pride of the nation for whom nothing was too extravagant. Aer Lingus even procured a special dispensation from the British government for her to fly into Ballykelly airfield on a private 747 so that she could make it home to her native Derry the night after her win. From RTÉ Archives, Dana returns to Ireland after winning the 1970 Eurovision As the Irish victory was a very big deal, RTÉ was dead set on holding a contest that would adequately represent Ireland. The only issue was that RTÉ's budget was not as large as that of previous contest winners. The station was already struggling financially due to falling advertising revenue, increased radio hours and increased payroll expenses. In order to hold a successful contest, RTÉ needed to make cuts elsewhere and this did not amount simply to cutting a few corners. It meant that the station spent a huge proportion of its yearly budget on the contest to the tune of £250,000. A full £200,000 of that expenditure went towards acquiring colour broadcasting equipment a year earlier than the station had planned so that they could film the Eurovision in colour. Irish viewers were late adopters of colour television as the new sets were more expensive. In 1971, only about 1% of Irish viewers had colour sets, but the take-up was much higher in the rest of Europe so RTÉ felt obligated to take on the excessive cost of filming the contest in colour. From RTÉ Archives, RTÉ News reports on preparations at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre ahead of the 1971 Eurovision, the first time the competition was held in Ireland The cost of the contest led to cuts in nearly every department and a cavalcade of programme cancellations. Big budget expenditures like soap operas were the first to go. The station left their long running rural soap The Riordans in place, but the short lived Southside, set in a Cork suburb, was cancelled after its second season despite being at the top of the ratings throughout its run. The station also cancelled a programme called The 70s Scene, a women's programme featuring celebrity chef Monica Sheridan. In the previous eight years of its existence, RTÉ had always carried an Irish women's show of some sort, but they replaced this with the much cheaper import The Galloping Gourmet for 1971. RTÉ had always relied quite heavily on imported programmes, with about 50% of programming imported throughout the 1960s, but the Eurovision crisis exacerbated the problem. Between 1969 and 1971 native content dropped by 6%. By 1973 the situation had become so severe that one UNESCO study stated "only Iceland depended more on television imports than Ireland" in western Europe. The situation incensed workers at RTÉ who felt that the station had prioritised the contest over quality programming and jobs. In response, members of the station's 'Anti-Redundancy Committee' descended on the Gaiety Theatre where the Eurovision contest was being held to picket the proceedings. While there, they booed at and jeered delegates as they entered the theatre and 'heckled' members of the RTÉ Authority. In a statement to the press the following day, they openly attacked RTÉ for their participation in what they called the "vulgarity of that musical non-event". They pointed out that the choice to air the contest in colour resulted in a situation where '1,500 employees are now equipped to broadcast colour to exactly twice their number ... But no money remains for home-produced programmes in colour or in black and white'. The picketers, including a young Eoghan Harris, were swiftly suspended from their jobs for 'unprofessional conduct'. 1971 Eurovision winner Séverine performs "Un banc, un arbre, une rue" Quick action by RTÉ's unions and the threat of a strike resulted in the reinstatement of the picketers about two weeks later. But the budget crisis, and reliance on imported programming, continued on for much of the 1970s. However, the nation's efforts and the Irish station's worsening financial situation may have been worth it after all. The Eurovision Contest of 1971 was declared a resounding success. One RTÉ employee who traveled to Germany soon after the contest reported that impressions there, on the whole, could be summed up to the effect that 'Ireland is a place where the Protestants and Catholics stopped fighting long enough to put out a very successful Eurovision Song Contest.'
