RTÉ have unveiled the song and accompanying video that will represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
The song, which received its first airplay yesterday on the Ray D’Arcy show on RTÉ Radio 1, is entitled ‘Together’, and was penned by Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Mark Caplice and Laura Elizabeth Hughes.
The music video for the song depicts a young couple strolling through the streets of Dublin’s Temple Bar.
Speaking about the video, singer-songwriter Ryan said, “It was amazing seeing the video come to life in the way it did, sticking with the original concept that love is universal and there are testing moments in every relationship. I can’t wait for all Eurovision fans to hear the track and check out the video!”
The video was directed by Christian Tierney, who has worked with artists including The Weeknd, Macklemore, Demi Lovato, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, The 1975, James Bay as well as for organisations like TIDAL, Universal, Sony and Warner Music. Christian also creates video and photo content for UFC champion Conor McGregor.
The video was choreographed by Ciaran Connolly who has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, on television and major arena tours, including Take That, Robbie Williams, Katherine Jenkins, Darcey Bussell, Michael Buble, Will Young, Cheryl Cole, and many more.
Singer-songwriter Ryan O’Shaughnessy will perform the ballad in the first Eurovision Semi Final in Lisbon on Tuesday May 8.
Together was purposefully written for the Eurovision Song Contest by writers working in The Nucleus, a new Irish songwriting team and hub, founded by Hamlet Sweeney, that brings the international model of collaborative songwriting to Ireland.
In August of last year, RTÉ held a Eurovision Song Contest Forum and invited key industry professionals, songwriters and performers to come to RTÉ to gain a deeper insight into the present day contest from international Eurovision experts and key RTÉ decision makers.
The forum created debate and fostered new ideas as to the way RTÉ might approach the song contest this year. Over 300 songs were submitted to RTÉ for consideration before the November deadline.
The song Together was chosen after being selected by a panel of music industry professionals who listened to and judged the shortlisted final entries.
The Eurovision Song Contest semi finals take place in Lisbon, Portugal this summer on Tuesday May 8 and Thursday May 10 with the grand final taking place on Saturday May 12.
Ryan will perform Together in the first semi final on Tuesday in the Altice Arena which has a capacity of 20,000 and is one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe.
