United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process Eurovision: You Decide
Selection date(s) 26 February 2016
Selected entrant Joe and Jake
Selected song "You're Not Alone"
Selected songwriter(s)
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016

The United Kingdom will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "You're Not Alone" written by Matt Schwartz, Justin J. Benson and S. Kanes. The song will be performed by Joe and Jake. The British entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden 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 entirely through a public vote.

Background

Prior to the 2016 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-eight 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 2015 contest, the United Kingdom finished in twenty-fourth place out of twenty-seven competing entries with the song "Still in Love with You" performed by Electro Velvet.

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 2016 on 9 September 2015.[2] Between 2011 to 2015, BBC opted to internally select the British entry. For their 2016 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final would be organised featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. This marked the first time since 2010 that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry.[3]

Before Eurovision

Eurovision: You Decide

Eurovision: You Decide was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Six acts competed in a televised show on 26 February 2016 held at The O2 Forum venue in Kentish Town, London and hosted by Mel Giedroyc. The winner was selected entirely through a public vote.[4] The show was broadcast on BBC Four as well as streamed online via the BBC iPlayer and at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.[5] The national final was watched by 680,000 viewers in the United Kingdom with a market share of 3.2%.[6]

Competing entries

On 30 September 2015, BBC announced an open submission for interested artists to submit their songs in the form of a video recording.[7] The submission period lasted until 20 November 2015. 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) who ran a songwriting competition amongst its members. The BBC also 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.[3][5] The six competing songs were premiered during The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 22 February 2016.[8]

Final

Six acts compete in the televised final on 26 February 2016. In addition to their performances, guest performers included previous Eurovision Song Contest winners Måns Zelmerlöw, who won the contest for Sweden in 2015 with the song "Heroes", and Katrina Leskanich, who won the contest for the United Kingdom in 1997 as the lead vocalist of the band Katrina and the Waves performing the song "Love Shine a Light".[9] The show also featured a tribute to former British Eurovision Song Contest commentator Terry Wogan, who died in 2016.[10] A panel of experts provided feedback regarding the songs during the show. The panel consisted of Katrina Leskanich, Carrie Grant (member of the 1983 British representatives Sweet Dreams, vocal coach and television presenter) and Jay Revell (staging director, dancer and actor).[11] A public vote consisting of televoting and online voting selected the winner, "You're Not Alone" performed by Joe and Jake.[10]

Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s)
1 Dulcima "When You Go" Tomas Twyman
2 Matthew James "A Better Man" Helienne Lindvall, Andrew Fromm, Peter Kvint
3 Darline "Until Tomorrow" Roy Stride, Joshua Wilkinson, Duck Blackwell, Jack McManus
4 Karl William Lund "Miracle" Karl William Lund
5 Bianca "Shine a Little Light" Ash Howes, Leona Lewis, Cass Lowe, Richard Stannard
6 Joe and Jake "You're Not Alone" Matt Schwartz, Justin J. Benson, S. Kanes

Promotion

Joe and Jake made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "You're Not Alone" as the British Eurovision entry. On 9 April, Joe and Jake performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Hera Björk.[12] Joe and Jake performed "You're Not Alone" in the Netherlands during the RTL 4 programme Carlo's TV Café on 10 April.[13] Between 11 and 13 April, Joe and Jake took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel where they performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Ha'teatron venue and recorded a performance of "You're Not Alone" for the Israeli web portal Walla!.[14][15]

In addition to their international appearances, on 15 April, Joe and Jake were part of the guest line-up for the BBC One programme The Graham Norton Show where they performed "You're Not Alone" live and were interviewed by host Graham Norton.[16] On 17 April, Joe and Jake performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.[17]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (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 5", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final on 14 May 2016. 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 25 January 2016, the United Kingdom was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 12 May 2016.[18]

In the United Kingdom, the semi-finals will be broadcast on BBC Four with commentary by Scott Mills and Mel Giedroyc.[19] Since their introduction to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, the semi-finals had been broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Three; however, after BBC Three transitioned to an internet television service in February 2016, the semi-finals were moved to BBC Four.[20] The final will be televised on BBC One with commentary by Graham Norton and broadcast via radio on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce.[19][21]

Final

Joe and Jake will take part in technical rehearsals on 7 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11, 13 and 14 May.[22] This includes the semi-final jury show on 11 May where an extended clip of the British performance will be filmed for broadcast during the live show on 10 May and the jury final on 13 May where the professional juries of each country will watch and vote on the competing entries.

Voting

Voting during the three shows will be conducted under a new system that will involve each country now 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 will consist 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 will judge each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[23] 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 will be released shortly after the grand final.[24]

Split voting results

The following five members will comprise the British jury:[23]

References

  1. ↑ "United Kingdom | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Eurovision United Kingdom: BBC confirms participation in Eurovision 2016". esctoday.com. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Public to help choose UK Eurovision entry - BBC News". BBC News Online. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (17 January 2016). "United Kingdom Final on 26th February". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 "This year ‘you decide’ our UK Eurovision 2016 act!". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Farber, Alex (29 February 2016). "Eurovision decider draws 700,000 for BBC4". broadcastnow.co.uk. Broadcast. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (30 September 2015). "BBC unveils biggest song search ever for 2016 UK entry". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (22 February 2016). "Listen to the six songs seeking to represent the United Kingdom". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  9. ↑ Hyde, Anne (22 January 2016). "United Kingdom NF – More details revealed!". escbubble.com. ESCBubble. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 Escudero, Victor M.; Roxburgh, Gordon (26 February 2016). "Joe & Jake to represent the United Kingdom in Stockholm". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Weaver, Jessica (23 February 2016). "United Kingdom: Eurovision: You Decide panel revealed". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (10 April 2016). "Highlights of the 8th Eurovision In Concert". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  13. ↑ ten Veen, Renske (23 May 2016). "Watch: Joe & Jake and Amir perform live on Carlo's TV Café". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  14. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (14 April 2016). "First ever preview party held in Israel". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "מיוחד: נציגי בריטניה לאירוויזיון 2016 בהופעה באולפן וואלה! NEWS". walla.co.il (in Hebrew). Walla!. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  16. ↑ Welsh, Eleanor (18 April 2016). "United Kingdom: Joe and Jake perform on The Graham Norton Show". esctoday.com. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  17. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (18 April 2016). "Review of the London Eurovision Party". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  19. 1 2 Palmer, Siobhan (4 April 2016). "When is Eurovision 2016 and how can I watch it?". telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  20. ↑ Runcie, Charlotte (26 February 2016). "Eurovision 2016: Joe and Jake are the UK's entry, what this means for our chances and five other things we learned". telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Radio 2 info and Q&A with Ken Bruce". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  22. ↑ "Media Activities" (PDF). eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Here are the judges for Eurovision 2016!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  24. ↑ Jordan, Paul (18 February 2016). "Biggest change to Eurovision Song Contest voting since 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 February 2016.

External links

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