Last week I was invited onto BBC Breakfast to talk about Eurovision. As soon as I announced that I was going to appear I received texts and tweets asking if I knew about the UK entry. This then turned into a rumour that I was announcing Jessie J as the UK entry for 2014! Not sure how that all started but it was hugely entertaining to say the least.
It looks like it'll be another internal selection this year. If that's the case, then at this stage it's likely that a name will have been chosen by now. When the deal is done, BBC staff, newspapers and other media will have the name well before it is announced to prep and write the story as happened with Engelbert. Of course it all depends on whether
they stick to the embargo, as we saw with Bonnie last year and Blue in 2011, everyone wants a scoop! Contrary to what many think, the BBC aren't in a blind panic and struggling for people to sing for the UK. It's just that at the minute, in January, it's not at the top of the list. That doesn't mean that things aren't moving behind the scenes. Perhaps we just need to chill a little?
I can appreciate that some people miss the build up to Eurovision since we no longer have a national final. I understand why fans are eager to know who is representing the UK and it must seem frustrating when it appears that there's a wall of silence coming from the BBC. I do think they could do more with Eurovision and could use it as a great way of launching fresh new talent as they did in 2009. I'm a realist though, these are difficult economic times and the BBC, like many other organisations, are making cuts. It's unlikely that we will see a large-scale national final for some time. Eurovision is first and foremost a television show which gets large ratings for the BBC. This is the logic behind the selection of Blue, Engelbert, Bonnie. A big name will be more likely to get bigger viewing figures on the night. Simples. Whether this is right or wrong, or translates into votes, is of course, another matter...
It could be another artist like Bonnie Tyler or Engelbert Humperdinck. Maybe someone should start by making a list of artists/bands that were famous 10+ years ago, on tour at the moment and planning to release a comeback album in 2014. It would be easier to guess by then.
ReplyDeleteIt will be another has been... it will get bottom.. and BBC will blame Europe..
ReplyDeletePaul, what are your thoughts on the Beeb relinquishing control of Eurovision and letting one of the other EBU members (ITV, Channel 4 or S4C) have a go? I suspect that ITV would have a selection a la X Factor, but would that be a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that the BBC haven't made use of The Voice winners/finalists - it worked for Russia and Belgium last year...
I think the BBC are unlikely to let it go whilst they're still getting healthy ratings. Perhaps a change would be good? Although saying that, ITV's entertainment programmes are often borderline tacky... I think the Beeb needs to re-think it's strategy for Eurovision but at the same time, it's still months away and a lot can happen in that time :)
ReplyDeleteThey don't need to do a snazzy separate national final. The Voice is on the BBC and started earlier this year (normally it doesn't start until March). It's the second most program of the week, with just under 10m viewers each episode. It's a live show (once the auditions are over). All they need to do is for the last singer from each team (semifinal week?) to sing, as one of their rounds, their "eurovision" song, picked from songs written by hundreds of eager amateur songwriters who would gladly send their songs in to the Beeb given a chance.
ReplyDeleteThe Eurovision winner can be chosen there and then, singer and song. And it doesn't even need to be The Voice winner. After all, in Spain, Beth didn't win Operación Triunfo in 2003 - she came third - , and Ramón came second in 2004. So the round to choose the BBC Eurovision representative does not need to impact the choice of the eventual winner of The Voice. Perfect.
Using the winner of The Voice in Russia and Belgium for Eurovision definitely worked in 2013...
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of someone that has been on xfactor or bgt. My vote would be for Nicholas Mcdonald ok he didnt win but is very talented and we need someone young and fresh. Show off our talent we do actually have
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