Latest news with #JohnnyLogan
Irish Examiner
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Five things to know before the Eurovision 2025 final, including a threat to Ireland's record
Who did we send and is Ireland in the final? Sadly, no. Ireland's entry Emmy performed Laika Party during Thursday night's second semi-final and failed to secure enough votes to progress through the competition to Saturday's grand final. Emmy is a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Norway and she was selected to represent Ireland after battling it out on the Late Late Eurosong Special back in February. You may recall one of her rivals in that competition was Samantha Mumba, who later hit out at the judging panel. Emmy is known for singing on TikTok, growing a profile with 1.2 million followers. She teamed up with Irish songwriter Larissa Tormey, whom she met at a songwriting camp in Norway, to create Laika Party — a song based on a Soviet space dog. Laika was a stray dog from the streets of Moscow who was the first living creature launched into orbit in 1957. Sadly, she died from overheating hours into the flight. So we have no Irish hopeful now? PARG from Armenia performs Survivor. Picture: AP Photo/Martin Meissner Not exactly. Armenia's entry Survivor was written by Joshua Curran, whose dad is Irish. Curran spent his summers at his grandmother's home in Tramore, Co Waterford. "I have loads of cousins from Waterford and Dublin, and we holiday together as a family every year. I've always described myself as an Irish-Czech singer-songwriter," he previously told RTÉ, adding: 'you can hear the Irish influences in many of my songs.' He said his dad informed him of Ireland's success in the contest, and of course that Father Ted episode was a key memory for him too. 'He was always telling us about how successful Ireland had been in the competition and how it was ruined by a turkey, which honestly, I still don't understand. Also, the Eurovision episode from Father Ted has always been my favourite.' Speaking of our record...? Johnny Logan performing Hold Me Now on stage during the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest in Brussels in 1987. Ah, the elephant in the room. Two years ago, Sweden matched Ireland's seven-win record when Loreen claimed the 2023 win for the country. As it was her second time to win the contest too, she also matched Johnny Logan's then-unmatched record for one singer winning the contest twice. Technically, Johnny still has one extra win, though – he penned Why Me? for Linda Martin, which won in 1992. However, this year that tie could be broken as Sweden are the favourites to win – meaning they would have an unprecedented eight wins at Eurovision. And with Emmy out of the running, we certainly won't be breaking that record before them this year. This year's act from last year's host country is KAJ, made up of Kevin Holmstrom, Axel Ahman and Jakob Norrgard, with the Swedish song Bara Bada Bastu, about Nordic sauna culture. The group qualified for the last stage of the contest in Basel, Switzerland, in Tuesday's semi-final. Can anyone else swoop in and win instead, please? Among the other favourites are Austrian musician JJ with the song Wasted Love. Austria has won twice at Eurovision, most recently with Conchita Wurst. France, Netherlands, Finland and Israel are also close contenders. Israel is still taking part? Yes. Despite concerns being raised – including by RTÉ - the country is still permitted in the contest despite their ongoing attacks on Gaza. Israeli singer Yuval Raphael's song New Day Will Rise is fourth in Saturday night's line-up. However, the country's presence is not going unprotested. Raphael had her preview show performance interrupted on Thursday night when six people with 'oversized flags and whistles' obstructed it. There have also been pro-Palestinian protests in the Eurovision host city and a demonstration against antisemitism took place on Thursday in the city centre. Israel's government said that Raphael, 24, a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attacks, encountered a 'hostile crowd' during the Sunday opening ceremony and criticised the protests.
RTÉ News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Johnny Logan: 'Never say never' on Eurovision return
Ireland's three-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan has hinted at a possible return to the contest - but only if the circumstances are right. Speaking on the Nicky Byrne HQ podcast, Logan, the only artist to win Eurovision three times - twice as a performer (What's Another Year in 1980, Hold Me Now in 1987) and once as a songwriter (Why Me? for Linda Martin in 1992) - spoke openly about the idea of returning. "I've thought about it different times," he said. "But I'm 71 now and really happy with the music I'm making. It's not Eurovision or pop-based, more New Orleans swing and rock, with big ballads that have evolved." Logan explained that Eurovision demands total involvement, which can be exhausting. "It takes up so much private time - the production, the presentation. If working with someone else singing, it takes twice as long because you have to guide them. If they won, I'd stay with them to help them through the experience." Despite his reservations, Logan didn't close the door completely. "Never say never. If I had something that really stood out…" Logan left the door open with one condition: "Give me an orchestra and I might think about it."
BreakingNews.ie
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Quiz: How much do you know about Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest?
While Ireland might have a poor record in the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years, back in the 1990s we were dominating the competition with three wins in a row. There have been plenty of ups and downs in Ireland's Eurovision journey, but thankfully the ups have overshadowed the downs (do not mention Dustin the turkey!) Advertisement Think you are an expert in Ireland's Eurovision trivia? Test your knowledge about all things Eurovision (including Johnny Logan) with this quiz.
Extra.ie
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Ranking Ireland's winning Eurovision songs. Will record be broken by Sweden?
Whether it's your first or 20th Eurovision, we must face facts: Ireland's long-standing record of seven wins is probably going to be broken this year. What was once an incredible feat for the country has since been tied with the Swedes last year, with it being increasingly likely that they'll go back to back with KAJ and Bara bada bastu. And while some (myself included) who grew up when we sent Jedward and Dustin the Turkey would balk at the idea that Ireland were once a powerhouse at the song contest, it's true; the Eurovision was a rare instance of us doing well at a competition on an international stage. With that, we at have decided to take a trip down memory lane at what once was, and rank the seven songs we won the Eurovision Song Contest with. Being written by two time winner Johnny Logan, Linda Martin's second attempt at Eurovision kicked off the country's three-peat in 1992. Pic: Sipa/REX/Shutterstock This isn't to say that this is the worst of the bunch, but the competition really is that stiff for Linda. And hey, some people even prefer her previous entrant in Terminal 3, which saw her place second nine years earlier. Written by two-time winner Johnny Logan (much more on him later), the song 'only' got the coveted douze point from three countries, but kicked off the country's illustrious three-peat of Eurovision wins in the 1990s. So we have Linda to thank for that! The first of three wins for Johnny Logan (two as a singer, one as a songwriter), What's Another Year was, in hindsight, foreshadowing to his further success. But alas, this is the weaker of his two wins (I feel ye already know where his other song will end up…), but is still a cute song; and got 12 points seven times from the voters. 19-year-old Dana's song All Kings of Everything was sent to Eurovision in 1970, and the rest, as they say, is history. Pic: Keystone/Getty Images Ye know I'm right! Perhaps it's a generational gap, but aside from Dana's just raw talent as a singer (it's absolutely phenomenal that she did this at 19-years-old), this is one of those songs that you'll either love or find a bit boring. But again, Dana sang this, and the rest, as they say, is history. If there's one thing the Eurovision apparently loved from Ireland, it was an auld ballad — and despite not having anyone to shop it due to the association with Eurovision, Niamh convinced a young Simon Cowell who released the song internationally. With the song also being lauded as having 'lots of old fashioned qualities,' another fun fact is that the demo of the song was sung by a then unknown, young Idina Menzel. Yep, the original Elphaba helped Ireland win the Eurovision back to back. 1996 was the last time Ireland won the Eurovision, with Eimear Quinn being the last one to bring home the title for the country. Pic: Lehtikuva/Shutterstock The last time we won the competition, and being the fourth time in five years that we won, Eimear Quinn's incredible vocal performance made this a bit of an underrated song in the grand scheme of things. Often called a proper Celtic song, Eimear's vocal talent meant that we ran away with the then record shattering 7th win; with the country still waiting for an eighth nearly three decades. Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan got Ireland their second of the back-to-back-to-back wins — but were (kinda) overshadowed by the interval act: Riverdance. Pic: BSR Agency/Gentle Look via Getty Images It was always going to be a toss up between this and 1st, but I think Paul and Charlie, while fantastic, being the second most talked about performance of Eurovision 1994 behind the interval performance, knocks a point off. While Eurovision nowadays is all flashy and extravagant, there is something just brilliant about a song like this — no orchestra, no backing tracks, just a piano, guitar and two singers. And if you want to feel old, gigven the timeline of the song started 32 years before the year of the performance, if Rock n Roll Kids were released today it would start off in 1993. Jesus. Of course it was. Pic: Andres Poveda Becoming the first act ever to win the contest twice (at least we'll always have that record), Johnny Logan's ballad was arguably Ireland's most successful Eurovision song outside of the contest — reaching the top 5 in the charts in 15 countries, being re-recorded twice, and even being the song used in the incredibly mid-200s McDonald's Eurosaver ad campaign. While four ballads have won the competition for Ireland, Hold Me Now is absolutely the best of the best. And hey, put a dance beat behind it, and we could even take back that title. What do you say, Johnny? 2026?
