Eurovision 2020: What does our expert think?

A Eurovision expert welcomed the new entry for the 2020 Rotterdam contest.

 

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In response to the announcement that grammy nominated singer and songwriter James Newman, would be the United Kingdom’s contest representative this year, Declan Garner, radio presenter at Spark, Sunderland said: ‘This year is a fantastic step forward by the UK.”

“It really shows the effort from the BBC and their collaboration with the record label BMG. We are still waiting for other countries to reveal their songs, but it’s a really good song. That is also doing well on Itunes.”

“The host broadcasters are putting in a lot of effort with production. They are really going to be able to create an atmosphere with this song.”

The James Newman entry announcement was made on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 4 and on the Eurovision Twitter account.

Newman had said he was “feeling very honoured and excited” to represent the country in this international music event.

Newman wrote the number one singles; ‘Blame,’ performed by Calvin Harris and Rudimental’s ‘Waiting All Night’ featuring Ella Eyre, which held its place in the charts for 38 weeks, holding the number one spot for one week.

This year’s entry was chosen by the BBC and BMG, who is the record label that James is signed to. Usually the nomination is selected through public vote, but the entry process was altered this year.

Our expert said: “It was a smart move. We have not had too much success from the National selection process we’ve had since 2016, and changing back to internal selection allows them to be a bit more meticulous.”

See full interview with Declan Garner below.

Last year’s entry, Michael Rice placed 26th, which is last place, in the contest with his single ‘Bigger than Us,’  which received just 11 points.

The UK has placed last at Eurovision four times since 2003. The BBC hopes its new approach to the contest will improve Britain’s reputation.

James Rowe, producer at Eurojury said:
“The Newman song sounds radio friendly. We have tried to believe the past songs are good, but when it comes to the live performance itself it hasn’t really translated very well.”

“This one seems to have the qualities about it where it would look good on stage and sound good live.”

See full interview with James Rowe below.

See timeline below listing previous UK representatives and where they placed in the competition.

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