The Late Late Show’s Eurosong special will return to our screens this Friday night.
Six hopefuls will battle it out to represent Ireland at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in May – which will be held in Liverpool.
Viewers at home will be able to cast their vote for their favourite song and help to decide who will represent Ireland at the annual contest.
Welcome to Liverpool 💖 pic.twitter.com/fZ3sWhdazi
— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) January 31, 2023
The winner of Friday night’s Eurosong will perform at the Eurovision Song Contest in front of an immense audience of 160 million people worldwide.
Meet the six finalists vying to compete in the Eurovision below:
Wild Youth – We Are One
Wild Youth are a four-piece band from Dublin, who have a string of top hits in Ireland, and have toured with big 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.”
ADGY – Too Good for Your Love
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.
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”.
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.”
CONNOLLY – Midnight Summer Night
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.
Jennifer commented: “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.”
Leila Jane – Wild
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.
K Muni & ND (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare) – Down in the Rain
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.”
Public Image Limited – Hawaii
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.”
🇬🇧🇺🇦💛 #Eurovision2023 pic.twitter.com/TwywhgmGvj
— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) January 31, 2023
Ahead of the Eurosong special, host Ryan Tubridy said: “This Friday is going to have a big, bright and sparkly line up of acts. Big stars, big numbers and big expectations because this could well be Ireland’s chance to reclaim their title as Eurovision winners. So, I would say get ready to party and join us for what should be quite the extravaganza.”
Ryan will be joined in studio by an expert Eurovision panel, while commentator Marty Whelan will capture all the backstage action as the Green Room correspondent.
The Late Late Eurosong Special will air on Friday, February 3 at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.
