Jump to content

United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Country United Kingdom
National selection
Selection processEurovision: You Decide
Selection date(s)27 January 2017
Selected artist(s)Lucie Jones
Selected song"Never Give Up on You"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result15th, 111 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2016 • 2017 • 2018►

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Never Give Up on You" written by Daniel Salcedo, Emmelie de Forest and Lawrie Martin. The song was performed by Lucie Jones. Songwriter Emmelie de Forest represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" where she won the competition. The British entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected via the national final Eurovision: You Decide, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through the combination of a public vote and the votes of an eight-member professional jury.

As a member of the "Big Five", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 18, the United Kingdom placed 15th out of the 26 participating countries with 111 points.

Background

[edit]
Main article: United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2017 contest, the United Kingdom had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times.[1] Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, thus far only finishing within the top ten twice: in 2002 with the song "Come Back" performed by Jessica Garlick and in 2009 with the song "It's My Time" performed by Jade Ewen. For the 2016 contest, the United Kingdom finished in twenty-fourth place out of twenty-six competing entries with the song "You're Not Alone" performed by Joe and Jake.

The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC announced that the United Kingdom would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 on 6 October 2016.[2] Between 2011 and 2015, BBC opted to internally select the British entry, while the broadcaster organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs in 2016. For their 2017 entry, BBC announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry.

Before Eurovision

[edit]

Eurovision: You Decide

[edit]
Main article: UK national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision: You Decide was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Six acts competed in a televised show on 27 January 2017 held at the Eventim Apollo venue in Hammersmith, London and hosted by Mel Giedroyc. The winner was selected through the combination of the votes of a professional jury and a public vote.[3] The show was broadcast on BBC Two as well as streamed online via the BBC iPlayer.[4][5] The national final was watched by 1.26 million viewers in the United Kingdom with a market share of 6.6%.[6]

Competing entries

[edit]

On 6 October 2016, BBC announced an open submission for interested artists to submit their songs in the form of a video recording. The submission period lasted until 1 November 2016. The received submissions from the open call were reviewed and a shortlist was compiled by the UK branch of the international OGAE fan club. Additional entries were provided to the BBC by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) which ran a songwriting competition amongst its members. The BBC also held multiple songwriting camps and collaborated with the former music director of RCA Records and founder of Innocent Records, Hugh Goldsmith, to consult with music industry experts including writers, producers, artist managers and members of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in order to encourage entry submissions and involvement in the national final. Songs from all entry methods were included in a final shortlist which was presented to a professional panel that ultimately selected six finalists to compete in the national final.[2] The six competing songs were premiered during The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 23 January 2017.[4]

Final

[edit]

Six acts competed in the televised final on 27 January 2017.[4] In addition to their performances, guest performers included previous Eurovision Song Contest winner Alexander Rybak, who won the contest for Norway in 2009 with the song "Fairytale", and The Vamps performing their song "All Night".[7][8]

A combination of the votes from an eight-member professional jury and a public vote consisting of televoting and online voting selected the winner, "Never Give Up on You" performed by Lucie Jones.[9][10] Three of the jury members also provided feedback regarding the songs during the show. The members were Bruno Tonioli (choreographer, dancer and television personality), Sophie Ellis-Bextor (singer-songwriter) and CeCe Sammy (vocal and performance coach and television personality).[11][12]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s)
1 Holly Brewer "I Wish I Loved You More"
2 Danyl Johnson "Light Up the World"
3 Lucie Jones "Never Give Up on You"
4 Olivia Garcia "Freedom Hearts"
  • Gabriel Alares
  • Sebastian Lestapier
  • Linnea Nelson
  • Laurell Barker
5 Nate Simpson "What Are We Made Of"
  • Jon Hällgren
  • Eric Lumiere
  • DWB
6 Salena Mastroianni "I Don't Wanna Fight"

Preparation

[edit]

Following the national final, Lucie Jones revealed during an interview on BBC Breakfast that she and the BBC would be seeking to make changes to "Never Give Up on You", stating they had listened to feedback from viewers on social media and would look at ideas at how to make it better. The new version of the song was recorded at Tileyard Studios in late February 2017 and presented to the public on 11 March 2017 through the release of the official music video via the official Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel.[13]

Promotion

[edit]

Lucie Jones specifically promoted "Never Give Up on You" as the British Eurovision entry on 8 April by performing during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Selma Björnsdóttir.[14] In addition to her international appearances, on 2 April, Jones performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.[15] On 28 April, Jones was part of the guest line-up for the BBC One programme The Graham Norton Show where she performed "Never Give Up on You" live and was interviewed by host Graham Norton.[16]

At Eurovision

[edit]
Lucie Jones during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to compete in one of two semi-finals, and qualify in order to participate in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final on 13 May 2017.[17] In addition to their participation in the final, the United Kingdom is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 31 January 2017, the United Kingdom was assigned to broadcast and vote in the first semi-final on 9 May 2017.[18]

In the United Kingdom, the semi-finals were broadcast on BBC Four with commentary by Scott Mills and Mel Giedroyc, while the final was televised on BBC One with commentary by Graham Norton and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce.[4][19] The British spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the British jury during the final, was Katrina Leskanich who won the contest for the United Kingdom in 1997 as part of the band Katrina and the Waves.

Final

[edit]
Lucie Jones during a rehearsal before the final

Lucie Jones took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 8, 12 and 13 May. This included the semi-final jury show on 8 May where an extended clip of the British performance was filmed for broadcast during the live show on 9 May and the jury final on 12 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. After technical rehearsals were held on 7 May, the "Big Five" countries and host country Ukraine held a press conference. As part of this press conference, the artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. The United Kingdom was drawn to compete in the second half. Following the conclusion of the second semi-final, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. The United Kingdom was subsequently placed to perform in position 18, following the entry from Norway and before the entry from Cyprus.

The British performance featured Lucie Jones performing on a predominately yellow and gold coloured stage which featured a perspex shell prop that showed reflection of Jones, with the LED screens transitioning from golden circular shapes that exploded along with the shell and stage arch to a volcanic fire. The performance also featured pyrotechnic effects.[20][21] The United Kingdom placed fifteenth in the final, scoring 111 points: 12 points from the televoting and 99 points from the juries.[22]

Voting

[edit]

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by United Kingdom in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to the United Kingdom

[edit]
Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Final)[22]
Score Televote Jury
12 points  Australia
10 points  Slovenia
8 points  Albania
7 points  Iceland
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points  Australia
2 points
1 point  Spain

Points awarded by the United Kingdom

[edit]

Detailed voting results

[edit]

The following members comprised the British jury:[24]

  • Mary Hammond (jury chairperson) – singing teacher, singer
  • Emma Stevens – singer, songwriter
  • Rokhsan Heydari – songwriter
  • Mark Eldridge (Kipper) – producer, musician
  • Jay London – radio DJ
Detailed voting results from the United Kingdom (Semi-final 1)[23]
Draw Country Jury Televote
E. Stevens R. Heydari Kipper J. London M. Hammond Rank Points Rank Points
01  Sweden 16 3 8 4 13 9 2 10 1
02  Georgia 12 6 12 8 9 10 1 18
03  Australia 6 8 10 2 10 4 7 12
04  Albania 18 9 17 15 16 18 16
05  Belgium 5 12 7 1 18 7 4 7 4
06  Montenegro 14 17 18 18 6 17 11
07  Finland 7 16 6 17 11 14 8 3
08  Azerbaijan 17 4 15 9 14 15 15
09  Portugal 1 1 2 6 15 2 10 2 10
10  Greece 13 14 13 14 8 16 6 5
11  Poland 9 11 3 13 5 5 6 1 12
12  Moldova 8 5 4 3 1 1 12 3 8
13  Iceland 3 10 9 10 17 11 9 2
14  Czech Republic 2 2 14 11 3 3 8 17
15  Cyprus 11 13 5 7 7 8 3 5 6
16  Armenia 10 7 1 12 12 6 5 13
17  Slovenia 4 15 16 16 2 13 14
18  Latvia 15 18 11 5 4 12 4 7
Detailed voting results from the United Kingdom (Final)[22]
Draw Country Jury Televote
E. Stevens R. Heydari Kipper J. London M. Hammond Rank Points Rank Points
01  Israel 11 24 16 20 11 17 19
02  Poland 14 10 11 16 22 13 2 10
03  Belarus 3 11 14 19 8 10 1 17
04  Austria 5 19 10 8 9 8 3 18
05  Armenia 18 15 9 25 16 18 21
06  Netherlands 6 5 2 9 19 7 4 12
07  Moldova 7 7 7 2 4 5 6 5 6
08  Hungary 17 18 21 24 23 24 10 1
09  Italy 16 14 23 17 18 20 9 2
10  Denmark 12 4 4 11 20 9 2 24
11  Portugal 1 3 5 7 1 1 12 3 8
12  Azerbaijan 19 12 17 18 13 15 20
13  Croatia 20 25 24 23 6 23 6 5
14  Australia 2 8 3 4 7 2 10 16
15  Greece 15 16 22 21 24 22 11
16  Spain 25 21 25 10 2 19 25
17  Norway 24 9 20 12 14 14 14
18  United Kingdom
19  Cyprus 13 17 15 15 5 12 13
20  Romania 22 13 13 14 17 16 4 7
21  Germany 8 23 8 5 12 11 23
22  Ukraine 21 20 18 13 21 21 22
23  Belgium 4 6 12 1 15 6 5 8 3
24  Sweden 9 1 6 6 3 3 8 7 4
25  Bulgaria 10 2 1 3 10 4 7 1 12
26  France 23 22 19 22 25 25 15

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "United Kingdom | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Eurovision 2017 - UK song entry now open!". BBC Blogs - Eurovision. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest, 2017, You Decide". BBC Eurovision. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d "The spotlight's on, the stage is set – Eurovision: You Decide is back". BBC Media Centre. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Tonight: Eurovision: You Decide in the United Kingdom". Esctoday. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  6. ^ Granger, Anthony (28 January 2017). "United Kingdom: Eurovision: You Decide Viewing Figures Double Over 2016". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  7. ^ Sandwell, Ian (16 December 2016). "Eurovision: You Decide signs up former winner Alexander Rybak". digitalspy.com. Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  8. ^ BBC Eurovision [@bbceurovision] (20 January 2017). "NEWS: @TheVampsband will be performing on #Eurovision You Decide, next Friday 27th January @BBCTwo" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 January 2017 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Adams, William Lee (14 January 2017). ""Eurovision: You Decide" jury vote confirmed...as Emmelie de Forest speculation heats up". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. ^ Weaver, Jessica (27 January 2017). "United Kingdom: Lucie Jones wins Eurovision: You Decide". esctoday.com. Esctoday. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  11. ^ Adams, William Lee (20 January 2017). ""Eurovision: You Decide" expert panel includes Bruno Tonioli, Sophie Ellis Bextor and CeCe Sammy". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Eurovision: You Decide 2017 Panel announced!". BBC Eurovision. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  13. ^ Weaver, Jessica (11 March 2017). "United Kingdom: Listen to the revamp of Never Give Up On You". Esctoday. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Amsterdam prepares for Eurovision in Concert 2017". eurovision.tv. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  15. ^ "The London Eurovision Party 2017". Eurovoix. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  16. ^ Gallagher, Robyn (29 April 2017). "United Kingdom: Lucie Jones performs "Never Give Up on You" on the Graham Norton Show". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  17. ^ Jordan, Paul (9 September 2016). "Kyiv to host Eurovision 2017!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  18. ^ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  19. ^ Eurovision Song Contest 2017 UK TV semi final ratings
  20. ^ Cobb, Ryan (5 May 2017). "Day 6: Lucie Jones completes her first rehearsal for the United Kingdom – PREDICTION & REVIEW". escXtra. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  21. ^ Outerson, Michael (5 May 2017). "First rehearsals for the Big Six: Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom and France". EuroVisionary. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  22. ^ a b c d "Results of the Grand Final of Kyiv 2017". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Results of the First Semi-Final of Kyiv 2017". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  24. ^ Jordan, Paul (29 April 2017). "Who will be the expert jurors for Eurovision 2017?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest_2017&oldid=1254991454"