This was such a great video. You explained a lot of things I had wondered about the Irish selection process. Also I think it's funny how sometimes you wear these sporty shirts and other times you wear hippie sweaters 😂 your fashion sense has range
I know nothing about cars either but I do know that Wild Youth must have been mega pissed off that all the headlines were about John Lydon losing, not them winning.. Connolly possibly had the best song but, of all the bunch, Wild Youth will certainly give the best performance of all of these on the big Eurovision stage. First half in the semi doesn't help them but there's a good chance of this qualifying if we end up with a lot of ballads in this semi.
I know people say Connolly looked unexperienced but for me this contributed to feeling her emotions and the emotions of the song. Oh I loved that song :( Like Blanche didn’t look very accustomed to the scene either in 2017 but a loot of people actually loved that. One of my biggest letdowns this year that we’re not gonna have that at Eurovision, would have been in my top 10 probably
yea blanche had that vulnerability too, but she also had a proper stage and proper visuals. so that kind of buoyed her through. having that inexperience AND a cheap stage isnt a good pairing and i think that was a big disadvantage for her
This selection highlights the dilemma of national finals : do you pick the winner on the night or the song with the most potential to be amazing in 4 months? Connolly had more potential than the 'We Are One' entry, but Wild Youth's victory on the night was undeniable for the reasons you stated. It's a dilemma for sure and tough for a jury/televote to think so far ahead. On another note, your point about this being Connolly's first gig upsets me. There's a difference between being up and coming and being an amateur, and while we all must start somewhere, the Olympics of song competitions is no place for someone with no experience. This is the biggest television show in the world, broadcasters should not even consider artists who've never performed on tv before or at least a concert. A Blanche 2017 result can always happen, but still... It's like bringing someone who runs on the weekend to compete in a marathon... Yet we see this happen on multiple national selections every year. (to be clear: I am not blaming the artists, but the casting agents)
My God you are 100% right about everything, you should be in charge of national selection. Political correctness in national jury is happening every year. I just couldn't believe what I listened from musical "experts". Irish esc fans should write a letter to RTE to make it right. Since Ireland doesn't have much interest and talent to write great song, national final should be open to Irish singers abroad. 3Arena would be amazing for hosting national final.
Wild youth are the only act who delivered. The only who sing good. I like this uplifting Song. Not realy new. Boyband Sound as usual. But for me the best choice. I cross the fingers for the halffinal. Inthink the best chance since years to qualify.
I could write an essay about my thoughts on this but you pretty much hit the nail in the head with everything. couldn't agree more on what you said about Tubridy comment. It may seem insignificant but Tbh, firstly, non esc fans will assume that were just hopeless and will continue to have the sentiments towards esc which plagued the UK for years about no one wanting to vote for us because of X,Y,Z. If you want to get more people on board with our entry, you try to improve things like having a more suitable venue for the artists, perhaps changing up the method of selection if its not working and for god sake, don't pick known acts just because they're known (PIL) because I watched the selection with my family and they thought it was dreadful and people watching the selection online tended to agree. The only two positives I can take from last night is 1. you'd imagine Wild youth would have some funds for staging so hopefully at least that can be good (because 2016 was awful) and 2. unless they pull a Latvia 2022 on us, I'd imagine were less likely to be put in spot 2 in the running order (which is something that worried me if Connolly would've been selected). But yeah, ik we don't necessarily revamp but I feel like it HAS TO BE revamped. The lyrics are pathetic (look at the likes of Elsie in Norway, like shocking that we can't have lyrics of the quality) and the song is beyond bland. Atm, I'm still deflated over the whole selection coz it was shocking and difficult to watch, especially when you've non ESC fans butting in every 2 seconds saying this is shite, that was shocking, why can't anyone sing. They were actually wanting wild youth to win because they thought no one else was good (k muni & nd was their next favourite, hated the rest). Yeah not a fun watch, I'll be watching Benidorm fest tonight that'll be better to watch.
well, i think its very likely that we'll actually be drawn first, it makes huge sense as an opening song. yep a revamp could do so much for this - i dont think its ever been done before for Ireland. i hope they surprise me but im not expecting a revamp from them I just wtched MGP and watching benidorm now - like you can see why people were taking the piss - theres just no comparison between these proper shows and what we put on
I really like Wild Youth, I think their entry is my favourite Ireland have sent in a while buttttt I get that it's not the most original song in the world. Plus, it looks very likely that they're going to open the semi in Liverpool,
you make me optimistic! Gustaph went to nr 3 in the flemish charts ;-) I hope Ireland will do better again soon. RTE seems to still be paying off the loans from the nineties....
Unfortunately we knew the production value was gonna be terrible, however I did think it was better than last year (not much of a compliment but yknow, it's something). Love Wild Youth, but I didn't want them to win, not only because Connolly was my winner, but because if they really want to go which they seemt they do, they'd have come back again, but hopefully with a better song, but that probably won't happen now. However, I don't like all the hate and sly comments being made about them by the fandom, at the end of the day they won, and obviously want to represent their country, so no need for people to be cruel like. Will it qualify, who knows, it's the only selected song from semi 1 so far so we'll have to wait for the others (except Norway, Finland and Sweden, we know they'll be quality no matter what, haven't seen anything from Serbia so idk about them but they'll probably be good too). For me, not a definite NQ, but they'll need to have the staging on point and bring the energy like its the last performance they'll ever give. Side note as well though, their participation MIGHT, a big might, encourage other artists to enter in the future. Edit: also I swearrrrr, if there's no music video I'll be extremely disappointed, especially after all they did was just add text to Brookes video instead of shooting an actual video
the international jury went for connolly, dont know if that says something for the future of the winners at eurovision. That said, out of the 4 songs we know so far, this is my favourite, not crazy about it though, just a nice listen
Thought I was watching a homage to the Father Ted Song for Europe episode .I believe the fictional contest in that Eurovision send up was called Eurosong as well
I was there on Friday night, Connolly should've won. A thought occured to me today, I wonder if the rte jury gave them the 12 because they knew it's the one act rte would have to give the least help to because they have their own team?🤔 I was underwhelmed by their live performance, looked better on the youtube clip. It's not all bad, I did like the singers voice, nice gravel to it & he looked well in his outfit. I'm just not mad about the song yet but we'll see what happens. I think they said on Friday that they're 2 in some chart so good for them. Yes I listened to Michael Kealy's interesting interview aswell, the only gripe I really had was that he kept talking about pop entries, let's not limit the entries. There may be a lot of music acts that don't consider themselves 'pop' that we're missing out on. Let's open it up to all types of music, have the few weeks of semi's that rte would sign up for in a show & pick the best one. Wouldn't that be great to have a big variety, the talent is there in Ireland we just need to give them a chance. The peanut butter is delish, we got almond butter, cashew butter, sauces & everything, delighted😊
first of all - im jealous of all your peanut butter 😂 i wouldnt read too much into the RTE jury vote - any juror on Eurosong is completely spineless, they would have been scared to vote for anyone but Wild youth who were by far the biggest band there def agree theyre great performers, but theres only so much you can do if your song is meh. agree that a multi show full of talent is the dream. the problem is the talent isnt applying and i dont blame them. compared to Melodi Grand Prix / Benidorm Fest which are sold out stadiums with top of the range stages, we've got a tiny studio which doesnt even have a stage or proper lighting acoustics etc.
I actually feel they managed to elevate the generic lyrics into an enjoyable performance with some charisma. There is staging potential to make this feel like a competent act at Eurovision. I don't rule out a qualification, ball is on their court to figure out how to make it happen.
@@hannahm6497 Thanks for the recommendation. The music styles are a bit different, each is interesting/charismatic in their own way. For now I am liking Wild Youth more (of course, I like Ollie way more), but it will all depend on how it looks and sounds on the Eurovision stage. They are in different semi-finals, so not competing against each other.
I'm not a musician or anything, but did you pick up a faint wiff of U2 in the backing guitar on Wild Youth's song Tom? It is fine but possibly will fall into the dreaded 'no opinion at all' category for televoters. Ireland have been shafted by the draw as well being 1st half of the 1st semi and no UK to vote (which I am certain folk in the UK would have done - they love a bit of Westlife here after all!) Plus being in Liverpool is probs the next best thing to a home venue for the Irish and I am sure the home crowd will cheer them on the night - keeping my fingers crossed Tom!
Adgy for me had the best potential as his song was catchy, had dancers, and had a phrase in Irish, the FIRST time in TWENTY FOUR YEARS! But his vocals weren't too good but that could have been polished. Conolly had the best voice. Not the worst selection Ireland's ever had but definitely one of the worst this year. The rap song wasn't too bad and would have genuinely surprised people if Ireland sent that. Overall, Conolly and Wild Youth definitely had good packages but We are One feels like the opening song for Semi Final 1 and not the one people will remember in such a cluttered semi final, having an extra country in the second half! I don't think people will remember this but it's different for Ireland.
I think if we continue with Eurosong it would make much more sense to do it the way MGP is done, with 8/10 international juries and balance it out with more televote points. Not sure what the national jury bring/ what their credentials are to determine a song fit for Eurovision. Also think the international audience by and large want us to do well and so we’d have a better chance of picking the song best fit for Eurovision rather than turning the show into a popularity contest I offer this is as constructive criticism because if RTE are serious about the competition they need to acknowledge that they need all the help they can get and having jury after jury going/not going for a certain song is a great indication of what to focus on for future contests.
honestly? i think the national jury is there so that they can diddle with the vote a little to influence the winner if needed, or add legitamacy to someone winning or even just to add drama to the scoring like they did last year with brooke
@@ESCTom I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true tbh but I guess what I’m saying is that even if they are giving a genuine opinion, what are their credentials to pick a Eurovision song? The Jury was made up of the head of TG4 Junior Eurovision, head of Sony Music Ireland, a 98FM Breakfast DJ and a band member from the 70s 🤷♂️
For me Hawaii really stood out and gave off so much emotion...I think it would've had a good chance of qualifying just for standing out - even if not for the right reasons😂
firstly may i say as a brit that i feel your pain! i saw the reaction to this song before i heard it, but when i did listen i was pleasantly surprised. i really don't think it's as bad as it's made out to be. ofc its not coming top 10, but i could see it scraping enough points to qualify in a 8-10th position, like sweden 2021
I live in NL. Europeans don't want this song from Ireland. Like it or not, they want something like Solas (JESC) which fits with the windswept ethereal charm cliché.
Ah last night was pretty devastating. I hate that I thought this would happen as well. The national jury being made up of “radio friendly”personalities must surely have aided Wild Youth (one of them was literally a 98FM DJ). Also think ADGY and Leila could have taken more points from the international jury from Wild Youth if there performances were better. A common defence I’ve seen of this that they performed the song so well. I agree that they performed it well, but that doesn’t make it a good song! You can perform a song well and it doesn’t have to be a good song! Also don’t really know why they got prerecorded backing vocals and ADGY didn’t. Connolly was fab, I was up for ADGY pre show but she completely stole the show for me. Ah well it is what it is, I can already see the narrative among the casual Irish ESC fans: “Ooo we sent a super cool, established band= political voting!” And to the people crying to go back to internal selection, I’m almost 100% sure they still would have been selected. Any way best of luck to the lads, hope they react and try to revamp.
Tom, any chance RTÉ could hire you as a consultant for next year?! Getting fed up throwing Eurovision parties in Mexico (where I live), where I can’t cheer for my own country. It’s also depressing watching various UA-camrs listing this entry between 35th and 37th place. Why can’t we get a Dermot Kennedy, a Hozier, or a Fontaines DC to submit a song instead of these bands or artists that no one has heard of?! Getting your music exposed to 200 million viewers has to have its advantages.
I was really hoping Connolly would get the ticket. It definitely took a bit for the song to really get going which probably impacted the televote, but that second half was So good I could see the potential for Ireland to create something magical on stage with that song. It was the Only song in the selection I felt could possibly get them out of the semi if they staged it right and worked on that first half of the song a little more. Wild Youth performed their song really well though, so I understand why they won. It is super generic though and the song won't stand out at all at Eurovision, but it is an easy listen I suppose.
I genuinely had to stop watching the show halfway through. I was just so frustrated at the lack of effort put in by the Irish delegation for another year, and they wonder why we do so badly when our national selection is a laughing stock compared to every other country. Ryan Tubrity looked bored out of his head, wondering when he can have his normal show back, the panel were just so useless and provided no critique or interesting commentary. Its such a shame that Wild Youth's talent and experience is going to waste with such a basic sanitised pop song. All it takes is to look at last years top 10 to realise that Eurovision does not want basis pop and a 'we're all in this together message' song and it doesn't do well or stick out. They should have submitted any regular track they would put on their albums, instead of a song that was so obviously made for Eurovision. In a year or two with a bit of experience under her belt, I would love to see Connelly come back with something else, because I thought her performance was outstanding and a better song could really do well. Honestly, can TG4 just take over the senior contest because I know they could do a far better job than what RTE is doing, and get Tom in the Irish delegation somehow!
yea totally agree with what youre saying. although conor or whoever only have themselves to blame. like this song sounds 100000% like the swedish composers normal songs, he was some edgy composer who gave them something different. so they obviously decided that they wanted that 00s pop sound instead of doing their normal thing
I really hope Ireland can look at the UK and Spain and just get their shit together! I was rooting for Adgy but when he started I just went "ohhhh no..." and I don't really care a lot about Wild Youth. I do love Peanut Butter though!! We don't get the giant tubs here but I'd totally buy them if they did!!
This has no shot at qualifying especially since it's only televote this year... wouldn't shock me if it came last overall not cause it's necessarily bad but cause it's so bland and forgettable
Wild youths songs chorus just reminds me of Westlifes starlight which is also pretty bland. Totally agree that it seems also like Nicky Burns song too.
It feels like Ireland are in their ‘ Joe and Jake ‘ stage of the Eurovision journey the UK went through. Cheap national final with generic song, etc. So give it another 6 years and something good is bound to come right?
Some excellent points, Tom. Disappointed that the national jury went for Wild Youth and not for Connolly - her song and performance was much more creative and original. They really need to get the NF the hell out of that tiny chat show studio. It's making the national selection look and sound woeful and amateurish, like a pretty poor NF from the 1970s or something. The production values are terrible for 2023. I would stage it literally anywhere but there.
yea watching MGP tonight and its embarassing how much better it is production wise. doesnt surprise me that the national jury went for the biggest band, you saw how totally spineless the panel jury were.
Bottom line the National jury gave it to Wild youth, all the public votes in the world wouldnt have made a difference had they given the 12 to Connolly. 5 of the six sounded decent pre Late Late, 4 of the 6 crashed and burned on the night, it was like amateur hour.
yep whole thing was too much amateur. I dont think its a coincidence that National jury gave them 12, i feel like their vote was "maleable" to whatever it needed to be to give a satisfactory result. if public vote had gone Connolly, national jury would have done the same. But in hindsight no chance WY could have lost televote, when they had some fans voting for them 100+ times. not having a voting cap is just ridiculous
As an American, what I want to know is why WE don't have tubs of peanut butter the size of my head. I thought we had a reputation as one of the few countries where people really like peanut butter, but the biggest Jif jar isn't quite that big around based on the image there. Clearly, we need to get on Ireland's level... Business proposal: we give you Taylor Swift for Eurovision (as a songwriter if you would prefer an actually Irish singer) and we get extra large peanut butter. Deal?
i genuinely would have thought that of every country in the world, you guys would be the only other one that had the giant tubs. so we're the only ones? 🤯
Well at least the international jury got it right see you Europe next year to see if we can get in to the final because we are not this year with that crap
Can't we just give the organization of Ireland's Eurovision selection to TG4 instead of RTE? Not only you would be sure it's a decent song - it'll be a decent song IN IRISH, which Ireland hasn't sent an entry in since 1972.
Estonia’s population is actually like 1/5th of Ireland’s population. also that guy who wrote Hawaii has done and said some other really nasty things so that’s prolly why everyone hates him a lot too
Aren't you being a bit unfair about the Irish charts. Because unlike many European countries which have local language content requirements for airplay (like France for example), in Ireland songs have to compete with American and British music for chart positions. This is not however a dispute that Ireland needs better song writing locally. What bothered me the most about the show is this annual cringy humor that is all geared toward nostalgia of the 20th century (perhaps the audience of the Late Late Show is 50+ and it makes sense).
do you think that airplay thing is really gonna affect the charts that much? like the chart positions correlate almost perfectly with how the song does at eurovision. the top 4 highest charting ones are all the ones that qualified, and all the rest didnt qualify and are way lower. i dont think cracking the top 20 in the irish charts should be considered a difficult task for our chosen song
Tom, Belgium is split in half for Eurovision. Have you seen what show Flanders VRT has made? The staging was even better than Eurovision 2022. If Flanders can do it, so can Ireland. RTE is just looking for excuses, but if they can't handle it they should give it to another broadcaster. The level of songs were so much better than last year, but artists like Connolly need guidance and gain confidence. What RTE is doing is exactly what VRT did for so many years, they didn't gave a F... (sorry for that) about Eurovision. Now VRT has a new management and they really want to win it. Sadly the public went for the wrong song, because the juries did everything so Gala or Chèrine could win. They tanked the public favorite the Starlings into the bottom, but sadly no one saw Gustaph comming. RTE should stop finding excuses, if tiny countries like Cyprus, Moldova,... can bring in quality year after year, so can Ireland. About the song, it's not bad, but like you said, this might struggle and with Connolly they could have had a top 10 song, if they let her gain more experience. That's why I think it would be a lot better for Ireland to pick internally as RTE clearly doesn't want to invest.
yes i did see it, i am SO behind on doing my Gustaph video. i was INCREDIBLY impressed with Belgium Eurosong this year, definitely the better Eurosong. yea we just need someone who gives a fuck, and some better ideas on how to managed the reduced amount of money. well we picked internally from 2016 to 2021 and only qualified once, so that was a disaster
Totally agree with you. RTÉ are just being cheap but it keeps them in the EBU. The panel talking are just pathetic. Marty is just even worse. Turbridy has stated he hates Eurovision but yet he presents. 300,000 watch the late late and has median of 60. I think we have the talent in Ireland but they are not getting the chance to participate. I like the song but for Eurovision it’s just not right. The band are good but it’s just the song. Dee Forbes needs to resign. She is only interested in money and Ireland are in Eurovision is suffering.
how would any talent look at that shitshow on friday and think "i wanna be part of that" singing in a tiny room with no proper lighting or stage & with a tiny seated audience
@@ESCTom totally agree. I see one poster in the program that indicated that it was Eurosong 23 and that was at the back of the audience to the side. The whole staging was just shite. If Ireland were to win it where would they even host it. 3 arena wouldn’t be big enough and RTÉ would have to pay millions to do up a place. They said over 500 entries were submitted and these were the best 6, REALLY???? It’s becoming an embarrassment at this stage. The whole show was.
Please react to three Serbian songs that are top favourite to win: Luke Black "Samo mi se spava", Savo Perović "Presidente" and Hurricane "Zumi Zimi Zami"
I know a lot of people seem to be hating on this entry because it's generic pop/rock with cheesy lyrics. All I have to say to them is "Come on boys, Come on girls, in this crazy, crazy world. You're the diamonds, you're the pearls. Let's make a new tomorrow" Finished 5th in 2011 for Denmark. Ireland has a chance to qualify
@@ESCTom that's for sure. I just think it might be an easy, feel-good song with a memorable chorus for Eurovision casuals. The question is, how many casuals watch the semi finals though. It really has to start with a decent national final though. RTE say they have no money, yet they spent around €2 million on "Toy Show The Musical"......and that absolutely flopped.
@@pminch The money argument is bollocks because their internal selection were equally as lazy and amateurish. Michael Kealy is just consistently trying to find any excuse to deflect from the fact that he’s a horrible HoD.
There must be something wrong with the selection process if we are putting people into the final who haven’t performed before or can’t before live. Connolly was great but I mean ridiculous that it was her first gig and she could have to face hundreds of millions of people live in may… wild youth song is very generic but at least it feels like a safe set of hands - they can work a stage and have performed to massive crowds.
@@ESCTom I think someone else wrote Leila song and asked her to sing it and I’ve a feeling they were from Eastern Europe from memory. Agree re ADGY though and if they aren’t seasoned performers, they should really just let them perform and have something going on around them. Making them dance and sing live is nuts, in fairness to Connolly she was the best of them considering how inexperienced she is because they just left her be and sing.
I'm always hoping that one year you won't have to go on a rant on Ireland's national selection, but sadly I totally get your points because this is again disappointing. Wild Youth looked so promising but this song, while not bad, is unremarkable and cliché. I would have preferred Conolly too, even though she looked very inexperienced; she would at least have been something inspired. But remember Tom, other countries including mine have been there too!
This might sound wrong but i think we need to just nab someone from another national final who didnt qualify. Like Ulrikke if she wanted to etc.. I think this entry is slightly better than last year but i liked brooke. The song is just inoffensive and bland. I didnt like Connollys repetitive chorus but i love her. Great performance. Definitely someone for the future. Adgy was my fave pre live. It was poor vocals.. falsetto missing. I do think it could have perfected it by the semis. PIL i dont really care about the drama. The song was bad. I think it should have come last. Definitely right to bring em for the popularity. K muni was my winner of the nf.. it would need a revamp. Leila was nervous. The choreo was off. Love the song. I thought based on studios it was a huge improvement but the live was dissappointing. Maybe more so than last year cos my expectations were higher. I think our issue is we send nice non offensive songs that people generally dont dislike but dont overly like either. We need to take a risk.
id be up for stealing someone too, but it would only be a short term solution. yea im a big fan of Adgy too but the performance was horrible, i watched 90% of it through my fingers. last years performers were better, but thats cos they were randomers picked to sing others songs, whereas this year some talented songwriters wanted to sing themselves despite a lack of experience
@ESC Tom fully agree with all that. I think stealing another countrys might free up some finances for a proper national final and might give an extra long period for more songs but absolute a short term solution. Love your vids man.
I was waiting for you to hear your opinions on last night's final. I could just imagine your ACTUAL on the spot reaction when the results were announced! Wild Youth - just don't care for the song. Its a real 'Joe & Jake'/Nicky Byrne moment, although performed really well, it was genuinely disappointing to see the stronger artists singing a weaker song. And in reverse, Adgy was the weaker of of the performers with a better song, which sucks. Adgy disappointed me quite badly. I'm sure he's a lovely lad, but it was like watching a school performance that had been practiced in his bedroom before hand. I really feel John Lydon's sentiments as my father is now entering the later stages of Alzheimers, and watching him slowly slip away and lose his faculties is incredibly sad. So I can honestly feel John's heartbreak and his need to perform his ode to his loved one on an international stage. Its the ultimate way to honour someone. Alas the song just washed over me. Leila Jane's performance was probably the least successful. I was surprised at how clunky and childlike her performance was. It lacked polish, grace, charisma and charm. Plus her vocals were really dodgy in parts. Connelly was my stand out. My issue was her image. Someone should have invested in and styled the artists. She looked like she'd been picked out of the audience and sing a song off a teleprompter. Aside from that, I loved her song and her performance, and even more so knowing that it was the first time she was performing on a professional stage. Amazing. I genuinely agree with all your points. The selection process needs to be removed from the Late Late show. The show literally lacks energy, and when you're trying to promote a song for a competition thats watched worldwide by millions, you need to really hype up the interest and put on an amazing show. If Ireland really don't want to pay to enter something that they could win, there's no point even entering. Just take a break. It's like paying to go on a bus, but then not want to go anywhere. It's a redundant thought process. I was genuinely hoping the UK's results would've inspired Ireland to come back harder this year. Perhaps next year....
Agree with most of your rant Tom. But you know that over the years. My 2 biggest takeaways from Friday nights final were as follows. 1. although Michael Kealy did a much better selection than last, I still don't understand what is happening. In part of the application requirements, there is a demand for artists with experience and stage presence and then we have my 3 favourite studio cuts performed by people who obviously have little experience. The handography was cringeworthy 🙈 2. It's not that i don't like Wild Youth. But lyrically, this song is sooooooooooooo annoying. One thing being "anthemic" (that a euphemism for repetitively annoying?) another being kindergarten level lyrically. "We rise like the sun" ....i mean? Really!! It never does? Does it? Right? I've decided. We have to go the route of Czechia Spend little? Produce better!! Btw Tom? Did Jedward really sing "Lip Sick?".......i know D4 have silent T's but really? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Lol literally just left a comment on another channel saying it really reminds me of sunlight, great minds think alike. 😂 But yeah this song is so forgettable and middle of the road I absolutely hate the generic cliche lyrics, right near the bottom of my rankings right now for me
I feel so bad for you guys in Ireland😂😂 this song is sooooooo bad it hurts, this is fighting to get out of last place. Like it’s so dated and it wouldn’t have even done well back when it was modern
Michael Kealy just tells us what he thinks we want to hear, he's just a hopeless HoD who just goes about his business the same way the UK has done for 10-15 years. The money argument is just an easy throw away excuse to distract from the fact he's doing a horrible job, I don't see how having more money would make a difference as all we would have is a more expensive version of our current mess.
I actually think the lyrics are the worst thing in a bad bunch of a song... The cringe when I listened to it was real! I don't intend to listen to it again
Wa Are One is definitely a banger in Eurovision realm. That's a fact. Eurovision is not like Grammy or AMAwards. Far from it. So we should stop expecting that indie songs or some critically-made songs will make it in the Grand Finals. Dreaming. Even "That's Rich" that was so hyped lst year did not make it to the international charts. I have no doubt this song will make it to the Grand Finals.
well thats Rich didnt even make it into the top 50 of the irish charts, so why should we expect it to chart internationally? i dont think thats any less of a Eurovision banger than We Are One
@@ESCTom Point taken, Tom. I totally agree with your observation that We Are One is a formulaic song in the context of their prevous genre & performances but that is what will make it to the GF stage which is more important at this point. It is frustrating already why Irish songs don't make it finale except that of Ryan's. They all deserve it. My litmus paper are my kids (teenagrers now). I let them listen (through Spotify), everyone agreed with our choice. Wild Youth and then Connoly. They both said, this is a true universal song. Whatever that means. LOL. By the way, I love your reactions. Keep that way, man. We love your views.
Regarding Eurosong itself, this has to be the most embarrassing National Final ever. All the performances were very poor or acceptable at best. It was like a working man's club talent night, with no talent. Leila jane, Adgy and Connolly should have just stood still, it would have looked better than what they actually did. Leila Jane convinced me she needed the loo rather than anything else. The first 4 acts all had elements were they were off key and looked uncomfortable and just didn't want to be there. The last two artists performed ok, but they had the least likeable songs (to my ears). I would have given it to K Muni & ND in the end, because although that genre of music does nothing for me, I could see it having mass appeal in the current market. The song that won was so bland and generic, that I am now convinced that RTE has no interest in Eurovision and should pull out (not Ireland but RTE). Brooke was light years ahead of all these songs, and the flack that poor girl got was shameful. As for the compere of the show, he is like a relic from 50 years ago, how he gets to host a show of any importance is beyond me. I hope and pray Ireland don't qualify, as this lack of effort should not be rewarded. The semi final they are in, I have no doubt that they won't. Then when you see, the very next night, two superb shows from Norway and Spain, both brimming with talented artists and professional songs, RTE producers should hang their heads in shame.
"we fail... we get back up again"
"life can be a long road"
"we're not alone"
"we are unique"
"we are one"
okay Emma Muscat!!!
exctly, the standard needs to be higher if english if your first language
It gave me Ema Muscat vibes too and I'm afraid they'll get the same result...
@@ESCTom right!!! that’s so accurate
@@jovanaoi It gives me more of "New Tomorrow" vibes from 2011
I'm so hoping that in your/our lifetime Ireland will have its renaissance! 💫
Omg Leo I’d bloody hope so, hopefully it won’t take that long 😂
@@ESCTom it would be so rewarding (for the entire ESC community) if we could see you beam with pride! 😍
This was such a great video. You explained a lot of things I had wondered about the Irish selection process. Also I think it's funny how sometimes you wear these sporty shirts and other times you wear hippie sweaters 😂 your fashion sense has range
haha thanks. i always wear sporty stuff, im just wearing the jacket until it gets warmer here
Every point you make Tom is absolutely on point!
I know nothing about cars either but I do know that Wild Youth must have been mega pissed off that all the headlines were about John Lydon losing, not them winning.. Connolly possibly had the best song but, of all the bunch, Wild Youth will certainly give the best performance of all of these on the big Eurovision stage. First half in the semi doesn't help them but there's a good chance of this qualifying if we end up with a lot of ballads in this semi.
I know people say Connolly looked unexperienced but for me this contributed to feeling her emotions and the emotions of the song. Oh I loved that song :( Like Blanche didn’t look very accustomed to the scene either in 2017 but a loot of people actually loved that. One of my biggest letdowns this year that we’re not gonna have that at Eurovision, would have been in my top 10 probably
yea blanche had that vulnerability too, but she also had a proper stage and proper visuals. so that kind of buoyed her through. having that inexperience AND a cheap stage isnt a good pairing and i think that was a big disadvantage for her
@@ESCTom yeah but in a bigger proportion it was the irish broadcaster’s fault
Totally agree with everything you say regarding RTE and The Late Late Show Tom.
This selection highlights the dilemma of national finals : do you pick the winner on the night or the song with the most potential to be amazing in 4 months? Connolly had more potential than the 'We Are One' entry, but Wild Youth's victory on the night was undeniable for the reasons you stated. It's a dilemma for sure and tough for a jury/televote to think so far ahead.
On another note, your point about this being Connolly's first gig upsets me. There's a difference between being up and coming and being an amateur, and while we all must start somewhere, the Olympics of song competitions is no place for someone with no experience. This is the biggest television show in the world, broadcasters should not even consider artists who've never performed on tv before or at least a concert. A Blanche 2017 result can always happen, but still... It's like bringing someone who runs on the weekend to compete in a marathon... Yet we see this happen on multiple national selections every year. (to be clear: I am not blaming the artists, but the casting agents)
God I always love your videos. This slays
thanks Bean 🥰
My God you are 100% right about everything, you should be in charge of national selection. Political correctness in national jury is happening every year. I just couldn't believe what I listened from musical "experts". Irish esc fans should write a letter to RTE to make it right. Since Ireland doesn't have much interest and talent to write great song, national final should be open to Irish singers abroad. 3Arena would be amazing for hosting national final.
Wild youth are the only act who delivered. The only who sing good. I like this uplifting Song. Not realy new. Boyband Sound as usual. But for me the best choice. I cross the fingers for the halffinal. Inthink the best chance since years to qualify.
I could write an essay about my thoughts on this but you pretty much hit the nail in the head with everything.
couldn't agree more on what you said about Tubridy comment. It may seem insignificant but Tbh, firstly, non esc fans will assume that were just hopeless and will continue to have the sentiments towards esc which plagued the UK for years about no one wanting to vote for us because of X,Y,Z. If you want to get more people on board with our entry, you try to improve things like having a more suitable venue for the artists, perhaps changing up the method of selection if its not working and for god sake, don't pick known acts just because they're known (PIL) because I watched the selection with my family and they thought it was dreadful and people watching the selection online tended to agree.
The only two positives I can take from last night is 1. you'd imagine Wild youth would have some funds for staging so hopefully at least that can be good (because 2016 was awful) and 2. unless they pull a Latvia 2022 on us, I'd imagine were less likely to be put in spot 2 in the running order (which is something that worried me if Connolly would've been selected).
But yeah, ik we don't necessarily revamp but I feel like it HAS TO BE revamped. The lyrics are pathetic (look at the likes of Elsie in Norway, like shocking that we can't have lyrics of the quality) and the song is beyond bland.
Atm, I'm still deflated over the whole selection coz it was shocking and difficult to watch, especially when you've non ESC fans butting in every 2 seconds saying this is shite, that was shocking, why can't anyone sing. They were actually wanting wild youth to win because they thought no one else was good (k muni & nd was their next favourite, hated the rest). Yeah not a fun watch, I'll be watching Benidorm fest tonight that'll be better to watch.
well, i think its very likely that we'll actually be drawn first, it makes huge sense as an opening song.
yep a revamp could do so much for this - i dont think its ever been done before for Ireland. i hope they surprise me but im not expecting a revamp from them
I just wtched MGP and watching benidorm now - like you can see why people were taking the piss - theres just no comparison between these proper shows and what we put on
@@ESCTom Absolutely its just amateur hour compared to professionalism at its finest really.
Okay, having the peanut butter in the thumbnail is actually hilarious 😂😂
😇🥜
I really like Wild Youth, I think their entry is my favourite Ireland have sent in a while buttttt I get that it's not the most original song in the world.
Plus, it looks very likely that they're going to open the semi in Liverpool,
yea youre right, it TOTALLY makes sense as an opener, which makes the televote even harder
you make me optimistic! Gustaph went to nr 3 in the flemish charts ;-)
I hope Ireland will do better again soon. RTE seems to still be paying off the loans from the nineties....
Wild youth might chart well, but i would be against the norm
It’s really impressive that it was Connolly’s first gig! She was good already, she can become amazing.
Unfortunately we knew the production value was gonna be terrible, however I did think it was better than last year (not much of a compliment but yknow, it's something). Love Wild Youth, but I didn't want them to win, not only because Connolly was my winner, but because if they really want to go which they seemt they do, they'd have come back again, but hopefully with a better song, but that probably won't happen now. However, I don't like all the hate and sly comments being made about them by the fandom, at the end of the day they won, and obviously want to represent their country, so no need for people to be cruel like.
Will it qualify, who knows, it's the only selected song from semi 1 so far so we'll have to wait for the others (except Norway, Finland and Sweden, we know they'll be quality no matter what, haven't seen anything from Serbia so idk about them but they'll probably be good too). For me, not a definite NQ, but they'll need to have the staging on point and bring the energy like its the last performance they'll ever give.
Side note as well though, their participation MIGHT, a big might, encourage other artists to enter in the future.
Edit: also I swearrrrr, if there's no music video I'll be extremely disappointed, especially after all they did was just add text to Brookes video instead of shooting an actual video
the international jury went for connolly, dont know if that says something for the future of the winners at eurovision. That said, out of the 4 songs we know so far, this is my favourite, not crazy about it though, just a nice listen
the positive is that Conor the lead singer is open to improving or a revamp, they are very determined to get Ireland back in the Final
yea i saw that. i really hope he gives a more indie feel and changes some lyrics
The best thing they can do is ditch the song completely.
Wild Youth’s performance was good but the first thing I thought was Irish one direction
Thought I was watching a homage to the Father Ted Song for Europe episode .I believe the fictional contest in that Eurovision send up was called Eurosong as well
the performances in Father Ted's Eurosong were better tho ☠️
I was there on Friday night, Connolly should've won.
A thought occured to me today, I wonder if the rte jury gave them the 12 because they knew it's the one act rte would have to give the least help to because they have their own team?🤔
I was underwhelmed by their live performance, looked better on the youtube clip.
It's not all bad, I did like the singers voice, nice gravel to it & he looked well in his outfit. I'm just not mad about the song yet but we'll see what happens. I think they said on Friday that they're 2 in some chart so good for them.
Yes I listened to Michael Kealy's interesting interview aswell, the only gripe I really had was that he kept talking about pop entries, let's not limit the entries. There may be a lot of music acts that don't consider themselves 'pop' that we're missing out on. Let's open it up to all types of music, have the few weeks of semi's that rte would sign up for in a show & pick the best one. Wouldn't that be great to have a big variety, the talent is there in Ireland we just need to give them a chance.
The peanut butter is delish, we got almond butter, cashew butter, sauces & everything, delighted😊
first of all - im jealous of all your peanut butter 😂
i wouldnt read too much into the RTE jury vote - any juror on Eurosong is completely spineless, they would have been scared to vote for anyone but Wild youth who were by far the biggest band there
def agree theyre great performers, but theres only so much you can do if your song is meh.
agree that a multi show full of talent is the dream. the problem is the talent isnt applying and i dont blame them. compared to Melodi Grand Prix / Benidorm Fest which are sold out stadiums with top of the range stages, we've got a tiny studio which doesnt even have a stage or proper lighting acoustics etc.
I actually feel they managed to elevate the generic lyrics into an enjoyable performance with some charisma. There is staging potential to make this feel like a competent act at Eurovision. I don't rule out a qualification, ball is on their court to figure out how to make it happen.
If you think they are charismatic I think you need to check out Joker Out’s live performance who are representing Slovenia.
@@hannahm6497 Thanks for the recommendation. The music styles are a bit different, each is interesting/charismatic in their own way. For now I am liking Wild Youth more (of course, I like Ollie way more), but it will all depend on how it looks and sounds on the Eurovision stage. They are in different semi-finals, so not competing against each other.
I'm not a musician or anything, but did you pick up a faint wiff of U2 in the backing guitar on Wild Youth's song Tom? It is fine but possibly will fall into the dreaded 'no opinion at all' category for televoters. Ireland have been shafted by the draw as well being 1st half of the 1st semi and no UK to vote (which I am certain folk in the UK would have done - they love a bit of Westlife here after all!) Plus being in Liverpool is probs the next best thing to a home venue for the Irish and I am sure the home crowd will cheer them on the night - keeping my fingers crossed Tom!
Adgy for me had the best potential as his song was catchy, had dancers, and had a phrase in Irish, the FIRST time in TWENTY FOUR YEARS! But his vocals weren't too good but that could have been polished. Conolly had the best voice. Not the worst selection Ireland's ever had but definitely one of the worst this year. The rap song wasn't too bad and would have genuinely surprised people if Ireland sent that. Overall, Conolly and Wild Youth definitely had good packages but We are One feels like the opening song for Semi Final 1 and not the one people will remember in such a cluttered semi final, having an extra country in the second half! I don't think people will remember this but it's different for Ireland.
I think if we continue with Eurosong it would make much more sense to do it the way MGP is done, with 8/10 international juries and balance it out with more televote points. Not sure what the national jury bring/ what their credentials are to determine a song fit for Eurovision. Also think the international audience by and large want us to do well and so we’d have a better chance of picking the song best fit for Eurovision rather than turning the show into a popularity contest
I offer this is as constructive criticism because if RTE are serious about the competition they need to acknowledge that they need all the help they can get and having jury after jury going/not going for a certain song is a great indication of what to focus on for future contests.
honestly? i think the national jury is there so that they can diddle with the vote a little to influence the winner if needed, or add legitamacy to someone winning or even just to add drama to the scoring like they did last year with brooke
@@ESCTom I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true tbh but I guess what I’m saying is that even if they are giving a genuine opinion, what are their credentials to pick a Eurovision song? The Jury was made up of the head of TG4 Junior Eurovision, head of Sony Music Ireland, a 98FM Breakfast DJ and a band member from the 70s 🤷♂️
For me Hawaii really stood out and gave off so much emotion...I think it would've had a good chance of qualifying just for standing out - even if not for the right reasons😂
It was at least different and had probably the best chance of the lot although John Lydon's voice is weak.
firstly may i say as a brit that i feel your pain!
i saw the reaction to this song before i heard it, but when i did listen i was pleasantly surprised. i really don't think it's as bad as it's made out to be. ofc its not coming top 10, but i could see it scraping enough points to qualify in a 8-10th position, like sweden 2021
yea it could scrape through in 9th / 10th, i mean like is that the best we can aim for tho?
Is it just me who can only hear "Joy" by Will Young? Also, the guitarist is trying his hardest to sound like The Edge and now I can't unhear it.
no, ive seen that mentioned by someone else. ive also seen the music from an ad from 6 years ago, i cant find it now tho but it sounded v similar
@@ESCTom Aye, that was "Joy". It was used in a Morrisons Easter ad in 2016. Well remembered that man! 😂
I live in NL. Europeans don't want this song from Ireland. Like it or not, they want something like Solas (JESC) which fits with the windswept ethereal charm cliché.
well its got that charm, but its fundamentally just a gorgeous song
Ah last night was pretty devastating. I hate that I thought this would happen as well. The national jury being made up of “radio friendly”personalities must surely have aided Wild Youth (one of them was literally a 98FM DJ). Also think ADGY and Leila could have taken more points from the international jury from Wild Youth if there performances were better.
A common defence I’ve seen of this that they performed the song so well. I agree that they performed it well, but that doesn’t make it a good song! You can perform a song well and it doesn’t have to be a good song! Also don’t really know why they got prerecorded backing vocals and ADGY didn’t.
Connolly was fab, I was up for ADGY pre show but she completely stole the show for me.
Ah well it is what it is, I can already see the narrative among the casual Irish ESC fans: “Ooo we sent a super cool, established band= political voting!” And to the people crying to go back to internal selection, I’m almost 100% sure they still would have been selected.
Any way best of luck to the lads, hope they react and try to revamp.
I agree, I'm calling it the 'SuRie effect', she didn't have a stand-out song, but she was the only decent performer in 2018 for the UK.
All great points. I'd add, the reprise clip for Connolly was dire...they missed the hook/meme...cost it on playback for public vote.
yea im not certain but i think they organise which bit will be the clip before the show and tell the producers the time of it after rehearsals
"I'm reacting to the results of EUROSONG, that's Irelands national final!"
...
*Belgium left the chat*
😂😂😂
Tom, any chance RTÉ could hire you as a consultant for next year?!
Getting fed up throwing Eurovision parties in Mexico (where I live), where I can’t cheer for my own country.
It’s also depressing watching various UA-camrs listing this entry between 35th and 37th place.
Why can’t we get a Dermot Kennedy, a Hozier, or a Fontaines DC to submit a song instead of these bands or artists that no one has heard of?! Getting your music exposed to 200 million viewers has to have its advantages.
I was really hoping Connolly would get the ticket. It definitely took a bit for the song to really get going which probably impacted the televote, but that second half was So good I could see the potential for Ireland to create something magical on stage with that song. It was the Only song in the selection I felt could possibly get them out of the semi if they staged it right and worked on that first half of the song a little more.
Wild Youth performed their song really well though, so I understand why they won. It is super generic though and the song won't stand out at all at Eurovision, but it is an easy listen I suppose.
I genuinely had to stop watching the show halfway through. I was just so frustrated at the lack of effort put in by the Irish delegation for another year, and they wonder why we do so badly when our national selection is a laughing stock compared to every other country. Ryan Tubrity looked bored out of his head, wondering when he can have his normal show back, the panel were just so useless and provided no critique or interesting commentary.
Its such a shame that Wild Youth's talent and experience is going to waste with such a basic sanitised pop song. All it takes is to look at last years top 10 to realise that Eurovision does not want basis pop and a 'we're all in this together message' song and it doesn't do well or stick out. They should have submitted any regular track they would put on their albums, instead of a song that was so obviously made for Eurovision.
In a year or two with a bit of experience under her belt, I would love to see Connelly come back with something else, because I thought her performance was outstanding and a better song could really do well.
Honestly, can TG4 just take over the senior contest because I know they could do a far better job than what RTE is doing, and get Tom in the Irish delegation somehow!
yea totally agree with what youre saying. although conor or whoever only have themselves to blame. like this song sounds 100000% like the swedish composers normal songs, he was some edgy composer who gave them something different. so they obviously decided that they wanted that 00s pop sound instead of doing their normal thing
I really hope Ireland can look at the UK and Spain and just get their shit together! I was rooting for Adgy but when he started I just went "ohhhh no..." and I don't really care a lot about Wild Youth. I do love Peanut Butter though!! We don't get the giant tubs here but I'd totally buy them if they did!!
This has no shot at qualifying especially since it's only televote this year... wouldn't shock me if it came last overall not cause it's necessarily bad but cause it's so bland and forgettable
uk thought like that! i hope we've changed
i think you have, but we're still stuck
Wild youths songs chorus just reminds me of Westlifes starlight which is also pretty bland. Totally agree that it seems also like Nicky Burns song too.
It feels like Ireland are in their ‘ Joe and Jake ‘ stage of the Eurovision journey the UK went through. Cheap national final with generic song, etc.
So give it another 6 years and something good is bound to come right?
Some excellent points, Tom. Disappointed that the national jury went for Wild Youth and not for Connolly - her song and performance was much more creative and original.
They really need to get the NF the hell out of that tiny chat show studio. It's making the national selection look and sound woeful and amateurish, like a pretty poor NF from the 1970s or something. The production values are terrible for 2023. I would stage it literally anywhere but there.
yea watching MGP tonight and its embarassing how much better it is production wise.
doesnt surprise me that the national jury went for the biggest band, you saw how totally spineless the panel jury were.
Bottom line the National jury gave it to Wild youth, all the public votes in the world wouldnt have made a difference had they given the 12 to Connolly. 5 of the six sounded decent pre Late Late, 4 of the 6 crashed and burned on the night, it was like amateur hour.
yep whole thing was too much amateur. I dont think its a coincidence that National jury gave them 12, i feel like their vote was "maleable" to whatever it needed to be to give a satisfactory result. if public vote had gone Connolly, national jury would have done the same. But in hindsight no chance WY could have lost televote, when they had some fans voting for them 100+ times. not having a voting cap is just ridiculous
but leyla's voice also slightly reminds me of sia's voice at points, especiall from some of her first albums, so I got the comparison
As an American, what I want to know is why WE don't have tubs of peanut butter the size of my head. I thought we had a reputation as one of the few countries where people really like peanut butter, but the biggest Jif jar isn't quite that big around based on the image there. Clearly, we need to get on Ireland's level... Business proposal: we give you Taylor Swift for Eurovision (as a songwriter if you would prefer an actually Irish singer) and we get extra large peanut butter. Deal?
i genuinely would have thought that of every country in the world, you guys would be the only other one that had the giant tubs. so we're the only ones? 🤯
RIP Ireland 🙏🏻
⚰️
😔
Oh :( there's no live reaction
yea cos it would get ads put on the video and id basically be saying they are good live but the song is meh
Well at least the international jury got it right see you Europe next year to see if we can get in to the final because we are not this year with that crap
well you saw how spineless the irish jurors were - it doesnt surprise me that the national jury were scared to put anyone but wild youth as number 1
@@ESCTom I do know that they can't afford to win but my god you would think they put a good song in we are becoming the laughing stock of the contest
Can't we just give the organization of Ireland's Eurovision selection to TG4 instead of RTE? Not only you would be sure it's a decent song - it'll be a decent song IN IRISH, which Ireland hasn't sent an entry in since 1972.
yep im totally up for that. or virgin media one.
RTE clearly dont want it so i dont get why they keep holding on to it
@@ESCTom Isn't TG4 connected to RTE in some way or are they separate broadcasters?
Estonia’s population is actually like 1/5th of Ireland’s population. also that guy who wrote Hawaii has done and said some other really nasty things so that’s prolly why everyone hates him a lot too
i think youre including Northern Ireland in that. The Republic is only 5 million 😅
Aren't you being a bit unfair about the Irish charts. Because unlike many European countries which have local language content requirements for airplay (like France for example), in Ireland songs have to compete with American and British music for chart positions. This is not however a dispute that Ireland needs better song writing locally. What bothered me the most about the show is this annual cringy humor that is all geared toward nostalgia of the 20th century (perhaps the audience of the Late Late Show is 50+ and it makes sense).
do you think that airplay thing is really gonna affect the charts that much? like the chart positions correlate almost perfectly with how the song does at eurovision. the top 4 highest charting ones are all the ones that qualified, and all the rest didnt qualify and are way lower. i dont think cracking the top 20 in the irish charts should be considered a difficult task for our chosen song
Tom, Belgium is split in half for Eurovision. Have you seen what show Flanders VRT has made? The staging was even better than Eurovision 2022. If Flanders can do it, so can Ireland. RTE is just looking for excuses, but if they can't handle it they should give it to another broadcaster. The level of songs were so much better than last year, but artists like Connolly need guidance and gain confidence. What RTE is doing is exactly what VRT did for so many years, they didn't gave a F... (sorry for that) about Eurovision. Now VRT has a new management and they really want to win it. Sadly the public went for the wrong song, because the juries did everything so Gala or Chèrine could win. They tanked the public favorite the Starlings into the bottom, but sadly no one saw Gustaph comming. RTE should stop finding excuses, if tiny countries like Cyprus, Moldova,... can bring in quality year after year, so can Ireland.
About the song, it's not bad, but like you said, this might struggle and with Connolly they could have had a top 10 song, if they let her gain more experience. That's why I think it would be a lot better for Ireland to pick internally as RTE clearly doesn't want to invest.
yes i did see it, i am SO behind on doing my Gustaph video. i was INCREDIBLY impressed with Belgium Eurosong this year, definitely the better Eurosong.
yea we just need someone who gives a fuck, and some better ideas on how to managed the reduced amount of money.
well we picked internally from 2016 to 2021 and only qualified once, so that was a disaster
Totally agree with you. RTÉ are just being cheap but it keeps them in the EBU. The panel talking are just pathetic. Marty is just even worse. Turbridy has stated he hates Eurovision but yet he presents. 300,000 watch the late late and has median of 60. I think we have the talent in Ireland but they are not getting the chance to participate. I like the song but for Eurovision it’s just not right. The band are good but it’s just the song. Dee Forbes needs to resign. She is only interested in money and Ireland are in Eurovision is suffering.
how would any talent look at that shitshow on friday and think "i wanna be part of that"
singing in a tiny room with no proper lighting or stage & with a tiny seated audience
@@ESCTom totally agree. I see one poster in the program that indicated that it was Eurosong 23 and that was at the back of the audience to the side. The whole staging was just shite. If Ireland were to win it where would they even host it. 3 arena wouldn’t be big enough and RTÉ would have to pay millions to do up a place. They said over 500 entries were submitted and these were the best 6, REALLY???? It’s becoming an embarrassment at this stage. The whole show was.
Please react to three Serbian songs that are top favourite to win: Luke Black "Samo mi se spava", Savo Perović "Presidente" and Hurricane "Zumi Zimi Zami"
I know a lot of people seem to be hating on this entry because it's generic pop/rock with cheesy lyrics. All I have to say to them is "Come on boys, Come on girls, in this crazy, crazy world. You're the diamonds, you're the pearls. Let's make a new tomorrow"
Finished 5th in 2011 for Denmark. Ireland has a chance to qualify
If that is the case the production needs a dramatic overhaul.
yea it could go for that feel good anthemic feel. but we need to aim higher than sounding like a song from Denmark 12 years ago....
@@ESCTom The production would need to be more modern version of the concept.
@@ESCTom that's for sure. I just think it might be an easy, feel-good song with a memorable chorus for Eurovision casuals. The question is, how many casuals watch the semi finals though.
It really has to start with a decent national final though. RTE say they have no money, yet they spent around €2 million on "Toy Show The Musical"......and that absolutely flopped.
@@pminch The money argument is bollocks because their internal selection were equally as lazy and amateurish. Michael Kealy is just consistently trying to find any excuse to deflect from the fact that he’s a horrible HoD.
Why don't they just choose a song from open entry. Forget about the late late altogether?
we did that from 2016 to 2021 and only qualified once
@@ESCTom Which show's that this talk of money is untrue and they as a delegation just are terrible at picking a potential Eurovision song.
There must be something wrong with the selection process if we are putting people into the final who haven’t performed before or can’t before live. Connolly was great but I mean ridiculous that it was her first gig and she could have to face hundreds of millions of people live in may… wild youth song is very generic but at least it feels like a safe set of hands - they can work a stage and have performed to massive crowds.
my gut feeling is that ADGY and Leila wrote their songs and didnt want to give them to someone else
and definitely connolly the same
@@ESCTom I think someone else wrote Leila song and asked her to sing it and I’ve a feeling they were from Eastern Europe from memory. Agree re ADGY though and if they aren’t seasoned performers, they should really just let them perform and have something going on around them. Making them dance and sing live is nuts, in fairness to Connolly she was the best of them considering how inexperienced she is because they just left her be and sing.
I think it needs a revamp or a change of song completely
he def wont change the entire song, but he has said he could possibly do a small revamp
I'm always hoping that one year you won't have to go on a rant on Ireland's national selection, but sadly I totally get your points because this is again disappointing. Wild Youth looked so promising but this song, while not bad, is unremarkable and cliché. I would have preferred Conolly too, even though she looked very inexperienced; she would at least have been something inspired. But remember Tom, other countries including mine have been there too!
This might sound wrong but i think we need to just nab someone from another national final who didnt qualify. Like Ulrikke if she wanted to etc..
I think this entry is slightly better than last year but i liked brooke. The song is just inoffensive and bland. I didnt like Connollys repetitive chorus but i love her. Great performance. Definitely someone for the future.
Adgy was my fave pre live. It was poor vocals.. falsetto missing. I do think it could have perfected it by the semis.
PIL i dont really care about the drama. The song was bad. I think it should have come last. Definitely right to bring em for the popularity.
K muni was my winner of the nf.. it would need a revamp.
Leila was nervous. The choreo was off. Love the song.
I thought based on studios it was a huge improvement but the live was dissappointing. Maybe more so than last year cos my expectations were higher. I think our issue is we send nice non offensive songs that people generally dont dislike but dont overly like either. We need to take a risk.
id be up for stealing someone too, but it would only be a short term solution.
yea im a big fan of Adgy too but the performance was horrible, i watched 90% of it through my fingers.
last years performers were better, but thats cos they were randomers picked to sing others songs, whereas this year some talented songwriters wanted to sing themselves despite a lack of experience
@ESC Tom fully agree with all that.
I think stealing another countrys might free up some finances for a proper national final and might give an extra long period for more songs but absolute a short term solution.
Love your vids man.
I was waiting for you to hear your opinions on last night's final. I could just imagine your ACTUAL on the spot reaction when the results were announced!
Wild Youth - just don't care for the song. Its a real 'Joe & Jake'/Nicky Byrne moment, although performed really well, it was genuinely disappointing to see the stronger artists singing a weaker song. And in reverse, Adgy was the weaker of of the performers with a better song, which sucks.
Adgy disappointed me quite badly. I'm sure he's a lovely lad, but it was like watching a school performance that had been practiced in his bedroom before hand.
I really feel John Lydon's sentiments as my father is now entering the later stages of Alzheimers, and watching him slowly slip away and lose his faculties is incredibly sad. So I can honestly feel John's heartbreak and his need to perform his ode to his loved one on an international stage. Its the ultimate way to honour someone. Alas the song just washed over me.
Leila Jane's performance was probably the least successful. I was surprised at how clunky and childlike her performance was. It lacked polish, grace, charisma and charm. Plus her vocals were really dodgy in parts.
Connelly was my stand out. My issue was her image. Someone should have invested in and styled the artists. She looked like she'd been picked out of the audience and sing a song off a teleprompter.
Aside from that, I loved her song and her performance, and even more so knowing that it was the first time she was performing on a professional stage. Amazing.
I genuinely agree with all your points.
The selection process needs to be removed from the Late Late show. The show literally lacks energy, and when you're trying to promote a song for a competition thats watched worldwide by millions, you need to really hype up the interest and put on an amazing show.
If Ireland really don't want to pay to enter something that they could win, there's no point even entering. Just take a break. It's like paying to go on a bus, but then not want to go anywhere. It's a redundant thought process. I was genuinely hoping the UK's results would've inspired Ireland to come back harder this year. Perhaps next year....
Agree with most of your rant Tom. But you know that over the years.
My 2 biggest takeaways from Friday nights final were as follows.
1. although Michael Kealy did a much better selection than last, I still don't understand what is happening. In part of the application requirements, there is a demand for artists with experience and stage presence and then we have my 3 favourite studio cuts performed by people who obviously have little experience. The handography was cringeworthy
🙈
2. It's not that i don't like Wild Youth. But lyrically, this song is sooooooooooooo annoying. One thing being "anthemic" (that a euphemism for repetitively annoying?) another being kindergarten level lyrically. "We rise like the sun" ....i mean? Really!! It never does? Does it?
Right? I've decided.
We have to go the route of Czechia
Spend little? Produce better!!
Btw Tom? Did Jedward really sing "Lip Sick?".......i know D4 have silent T's but really?
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The irony of wild youth saying they are unique in the lyrics
Lol literally just left a comment on another channel saying it really reminds me of sunlight, great minds think alike. 😂
But yeah this song is so forgettable and middle of the road I absolutely hate the generic cliche lyrics, right near the bottom of my rankings right now for me
Oh Ireland this is a nq unless they do something incredible with this song mel fest reject all over It
I feel so bad for you guys in Ireland😂😂 this song is sooooooo bad it hurts, this is fighting to get out of last place. Like it’s so dated and it wouldn’t have even done well back when it was modern
Michael Kealy just tells us what he thinks we want to hear, he's just a hopeless HoD who just goes about his business the same way the UK has done for 10-15 years. The money argument is just an easy throw away excuse to distract from the fact he's doing a horrible job, I don't see how having more money would make a difference as all we would have is a more expensive version of our current mess.
I actually think the lyrics are the worst thing in a bad bunch of a song... The cringe when I listened to it was real! I don't intend to listen to it again
Wa Are One is definitely a banger in Eurovision realm. That's a fact. Eurovision is not like Grammy or AMAwards. Far from it. So we should stop expecting that indie songs or some critically-made songs will make it in the Grand Finals. Dreaming. Even "That's Rich" that was so hyped lst year did not make it to the international charts. I have no doubt this song will make it to the Grand Finals.
well thats Rich didnt even make it into the top 50 of the irish charts, so why should we expect it to chart internationally? i dont think thats any less of a Eurovision banger than We Are One
@@ESCTom Point taken, Tom. I totally agree with your observation that We Are One is a formulaic song in the context of their prevous genre & performances but that is what will make it to the GF stage which is more important at this point. It is frustrating already why Irish songs don't make it finale except that of Ryan's. They all deserve it. My litmus paper are my kids (teenagrers now). I let them listen (through Spotify), everyone agreed with our choice. Wild Youth and then Connoly. They both said, this is a true universal song. Whatever that means. LOL. By the way, I love your reactions. Keep that way, man. We love your views.
No it’s not a banger in Eurovision world…
Someone should not qualify
Latvia and Croatia can easily be high in televote
Croatia only has one song that could maybe pass to final, others are bad
Regarding Eurosong itself, this has to be the most embarrassing National Final ever. All the performances were very poor or acceptable at best. It was like a working man's club talent night, with no talent. Leila jane, Adgy and Connolly should have just stood still, it would have looked better than what they actually did. Leila Jane convinced me she needed the loo rather than anything else. The first 4 acts all had elements were they were off key and looked uncomfortable and just didn't want to be there. The last two artists performed ok, but they had the least likeable songs (to my ears). I would have given it to K Muni & ND in the end, because although that genre of music does nothing for me, I could see it having mass appeal in the current market. The song that won was so bland and generic, that I am now convinced that RTE has no interest in Eurovision and should pull out (not Ireland but RTE). Brooke was light years ahead of all these songs, and the flack that poor girl got was shameful. As for the compere of the show, he is like a relic from 50 years ago, how he gets to host a show of any importance is beyond me. I hope and pray Ireland don't qualify, as this lack of effort should not be rewarded. The semi final they are in, I have no doubt that they won't. Then when you see, the very next night, two superb shows from Norway and Spain, both brimming with talented artists and professional songs, RTE producers should hang their heads in shame.
Just so disappointed with the result, this song is much worse than most of Wild Youth's discography