One of Ireland's top bands at the moment and a punk rock icon will be among six acts battling it out to represent Ireland at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Four-piece Wild Youth will be the favourite when the Late Late Show Eurosong special rolls around on February 3.
They will be in competition with some hot young talent in the form of ADGY, Connolly, Leila Jane and K Muni & ND but will also face off with former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon and his band Public Image Limited.
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RTE today unveiled the six acts who will battle it out to represent Ireland in Liverpool this May at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest. You can listen to all six songs here.
The finalists selected will perform on a special Late Late Show on Friday, February 3, where the winner will be chosen by a combination of National Jury, International Jury, and Public vote.
Liverpool will host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, and the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place in the Liverpool Arena next to the River Mersey on Saturday May 13, with Semi-Finals on Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th.
The six songs were selected from hundreds of entries received by RTÉ following a callout for submissions last year.
Michael Kealy, RTÉ Eurovision Head of Delegation, said: "I am really impressed by the quality and standard of the six acts we have in our Eurosong final this year. The Eurovision Song Contest is a global phenomenon, and the competition is getting harder every year, but whichever of our six finalists gets to represent Ireland in Liverpool in May I've no doubt they will represent us brilliantly, winning new fans all over the world."
You can read about the contenders to represent Ireland and their songs below:
SONG 1 - Too Good for Your Love
Performer: ADGY
Too Good for Your Love was written by ADGY (Andrew Carr) as a piano ballad during the lockdown and is a collaboration with producer Boksay, The two artists worked together remotely in creating the final version of this song, which is described as "an upbeat high tempo dance track". ADGY is a singer-songwriter from Co.Donegal, whose music career took off in 2020 when he signed a record deal for his release Like You Do with Universal Music Group. Since then, ADGY has released music that has accumulated over 10 million streams globally across streaming platforms and radio.
He says: “I’ve been a songwriter for as long as I can remember, and I’ve written for lots of artists, as well as myself. But it’s my dream to perform live on stage in front of a large audience and I hope to do more of that this year”
SONG 2 - Midnight Summer Night
Performer CONNOLLY
Midnight Summer Night is a track that was written one night during the pandemic when Leitir Meailláin's Jennifer Connolly was just 17 years old. Currently in her 1st year of Creative Music Production in IADT / Sound Training College in Dublin, Jennifer says she has had a passion for music since she was a young child, and that this song plays with themes of nostalgia and the passing of time through her vocals. "The song conveys confusion and overwhelming detachment, but overall. the song implies that nothing bad lasts forever, delivering a sense of hope. To be in with a chance to share my song on such a legendary platform as Eurovision is amazing. It would be nothing less than a dream come true to bring Eurovision back home for Ireland once again."
SONG 3 - We are One
Performer: Wild Youth
Wild Youth are a four-piece band from Dublin, who have a string of top hits in Ireland, and have toured with names including Niall Horan, Lewis Capaldi, & Westlife. On top of their own sold-out tours of the UK and Ireland, Conor O’Donohoe from the band has also written a string of top hits for other artists, and co-written with Moncrief and The Script. We are One was written in Sweden with Grammy nominated songwriter Jörgen Elofsson. Wild Youth say: "We are so delighted to be here. Eurovision is something we have always loved and would love to represent our country. We hope that everyone loves the song that we’ve written and believe we can be the band to represent Ireland this year."
SONG 4 - Wild
Performer: Leila Jane
Leila Jane is an Indie Pop singer-songwriter based in Dublin who was described as ‘’One to watch’’ by Late Date’s Cathal Murray. Imelda May selected her to be the recipient of the ‘Imelda May Scholarship’ at BIMM Institute Dublin, where she graduated with a first-class honours music degree. "All Eurovision songs need a strong message and ‘Wild’ is an empowering song about the strength of a woman’s spirit," Leila Jane says. ‘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!"
For the track, she teamed up with Liis Hainla, an Estonian songwriter, Finnish producer Arto Ruotsala, and British songwriter Aaron Sibley.
SONG 5 - Down in the Rain
Performer: K Muni & ND (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare)
Down in the Rain by Longford duo K Muni & ND is described by the artists as a testament to their determination. The song chronicles a difficult period in their careers when their music wasn't getting the attention they believed it deserved. Through Down in the Rain, the artists encourage listeners to never give up on their aspirations no matter how tough the road may seem. “It would mean the world to us to represent Ireland," they say. "We remember watching Eurovision as kids with our families, so to think we could have the people of Ireland, our people, tuned in to cheer us and our country on is incredible."
SONG 6 - Hawaii
Performer: Public Image Limited
Public Image Limited celebrated their 40 Anniversary in 2018 and are fronted by former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon. PiL’s music has earned them 5 UK Top 20 singles and 5 UK Top 20 albums. Hawaii is a love letter to John Lydon's wife of nearly 5 decades, Nora, who is living with Alzheimer’s. Described as "a pensive, personal yet universal love song that will resonate with many", the song sees John reflecting on one of their happiest moments together in Hawaii. According to the band, the emotional ballad is as close as John (whose mother was from Co Cork and father came from Galway), will ever come to bearing his soul. “It is dedicated to everyone going through tough times on the journey of life, with the person they care for the most,” John says. “It’s also a message of hope that ultimately love conquers all."
Further details on The Late Late Show Eurosong 2023 Special will be announced in the coming weeks.
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