Image Credit: Instagram @adgy.ac (ADGY) // Paul Hartfield (Public Image LTD) // Instagram @aisha.visuals // eurovision.tv (K Muni & ND, Connolly) // indiemusiccentral.com (Wild Youth)
Eurosong is back for another year in Ireland! Hosted live on The Late Late Show, this year 6 new artists will compete for the opportunity to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool.
After coming 15th in the semi-final at Eurovision 2022, the contest’s most successful country (in terms of wins) will be hoping to get back to the final, 5 years on from their last qualification.
Let’s meet the 6 participants in Eurosong 2023!
ADGY – ‘Too Good For Your Love’
ADGY (Andrew Carr) is from Donegal, Ireland and has been a rising star in the music industry. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Songwriting & Music from the Bristol Institute of Modern Music. After moving to London to work on his music, he returned back to Ireland to continue his career as a singer/songwriter. He signed with Universal in 2020, and has been releasing a series of singles since, gaining over 10 million streams across his songs combined.
The perfect opener for Eurosong, his entry ‘Too Good For Your Love’ is a big upbeat EDM dance track. He’s been working with the same people behind Ireland’s 2022 Eurovision entry ‘That’s Rich’ by Brooke, and after getting 100 retweets, will likely sing 20 seconds of the song in Gaeilge.
You can hear his song below!
Connolly – ‘Midnight Summer Night’
Jennifer Connolly, simply known by just her surname, is a 20 year old upcoming singer from Galway. She is currently in her first year of studying Creative Music Production in Dublin.
‘Midnight Summer Night’ is her debut single and was written when Connolly was just 17 years old. The song explores nostalgia, and features some divine vocals. It’s currently a big favourite to win the contest with Eurovision fans, despite the single being in demo form. You can hear her song below.
Leila Jane – ‘Wild’
Indie pop singer Leila Jane grew up between London and Donegal, and is currently based in Dublin. She studied at the prestigious BIMM Institute in Dublin, which saw her play sets at Glastonbury and Electric Picnic, and graduated with a first class honours degree in music.
‘Wild’ discusses determination and spirit to continue. Leila told RTÉ the meaning behind her song, saying:
All Eurovision songs need a strong message, and Wild is an empowering song about the strength of a woman’s spirit.
‘Wild’ represents my love of the creative freedom I have here in Ireland. It would be an absolute honour to show Eurovision what Ireland’s got!
Leila Jane, RTÉ
You can hear her song below!
Public Image LTD – ‘Hawaii’
Public Image LTD are a British post-punk band made up of former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (also known as Johnny Rotten), Bruce Smiths, Lu Edmonds and Scott Firth. John Lydon’s parents are from County Cork in Ireland, and moved to London before he was born. They’ve been a group since 1978, ending in 1993 before reforming in 2009. They have a large fanbase, and with John Lydon promoting their entry across TV in the UK and Ireland, they could be set up for success in the contest.
‘Hawaii’ is a very gentle song with few lyrics, which is dedicated to John’s wife Nora, who was sadly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2018. John told This Morning that one of the things that has helped him and Nora connect during this period is music, and he uses the lyrics to speak to her. He is using his participation to raise awareness of the disease. Despite a mixed reaction to the song online, the groups fans and those who resonate with their story may see Eurovision as the perfect platform for this song and group. You can hear their song below.
Wild Youth – ‘We Are One’
It didn’t come as much of a surprise when Wild Youth were announced for Eurosong due to their openness to the idea of competing being publicly stated in the weeks after Eurovision 2022 concluded. Made up of David Whelan, Ed Porter, Callum McAdams and Conor O’Donohoe, they formed in 2016 and released their debut single in 2017. Since then, they’ve earned an extremely loyal fanbase, and have become a well-known name on Irish radio. They’ve toured with some of the biggest exports from Ireland – Westlife, The Script and Niall Horan, and have also toured with Scottish star Lewis Capaldi.
Phoenix member MJ spoke with Conor ahead of Eurosong, and you can watch the interview below!
‘We Are One’ is an anthemic track, with the lyrics going for the vibe of uniting people no matter who you are. They’re definitely ones to watch in the contest, especially with the televote. You can hear their song below.
K Muni & ND – ‘Down In The Rain’
Eurosong comes as a huge milestone in the careers of K Muni & ND, who’s application to the contest was done so K Muni’s younger siblings could get to see The Late Late Show live after their excitement at watching The Late Late Toy Show in 2022. Representing Longford at the contest this year, the pair hope to do their hometown proud.
MJ spoke to K Muni & ND to get their thoughts ahead of the contest, you can watch it below.
‘Down In The Rain’ is completely different to what we usually hear in national finals, and is quite representative of music that’s currently charting right now in Europe – specifically the UK & Ireland. Lyrically, it discusses their determination to make it despite setbacks. It’s received positive reviews, and with last years Eurovision winner ‘Stefania’ featuring rap, could the contest finally be opening up to the genre? You can hear their song below.
Eurosong 2023 will take place on The Late Late Show on Friday February 3rd 2023 live on RTÉ. The winner will be decided by a jury & televote.
Who is your favourite in Eurosong this year? Let us know in the comments!
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