Ireland's Eurovision broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) have announced the six artists and songs that have been selected to compete in the Irish national final, and excitingly one of the entries has an Aussie connection.
Starting from Monday January 8 each day a new entry was presented on the Ray D'Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 each day, with two songs presented on Wednesday January 10.
A total of 378 entries were submitted to be considered to represent Ireland at this year's Eurovision. There are a diverse range of genres amongst this year's finalists, with the songs covering Celtic-metal to hip hop.
One of the artists, Isabella Kearney, was born in Sydney and spent a large portion of her childhood in Australia. She will be competing with her song 'Let Me Be The Fire'.
The six Eurosong artists and their songs are:
Isabella Kearney - 'Let Me Be The Fire'
Erica Cody - 'Love Me Like I Do'
Alisha - 'Go Tobann'
JyellowL - 'Judas'
Bambie Thug - 'Doomsday Blues'
Next In Line - 'Love Like Us'
The Competing Artists:
Isabella Kearney - 'Let Me Be The Fire'
31-year-old Isabella was born in Sydney, grew up in Donegal and Northern Ireland, before moving back to Australia at the age of nine. She has been to signed to Sony Music as a songwriter since 2018, and is currently based in Nashville.
Her song 'Let Me Be the Fire' describes helping someone special through a difficulty in their life, and discusses mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
Isabella is a long-standing fan of Eurovision. She remarked to RTÉ, "It's always been a dream of mine to represent Ireland in Eurovision. It was a big part of my childhood watching it with my mum ... I think Ireland needs a win in Eurovision and the Irish community is ready to send a world class song."
Having an Australian represent Ireland could be fortuitous for the Emerald Isle. Three-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan was born and spent three years of his childhood in Frankston, Victoria. It will fascinating to see if Aussie Isabella will come through this diverse national selection.
Erica Cody - 'Love Me Like I Do'
Erica describes her entry 'Love Me Like I Do' as the "ultimate feel good self-love anthem". The song is a good reflection of her repertoire which consists of upbeat songs that "promote self-love and confidence."
Born to an Irish mother and an African American father, Erica notably took part in Black Lives Matter protests in Dublin in 2020, and spoke out to the Irish media about the racism she has experienced. In 2022, she took part in the fifth season of the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, where she reached the final.
Alisha - 'Go Tobann'
This Celtic-metal track translates to 'Suddenly' in English. According to RTÉ the song "humorously speaks to the Irish experience of learning the [Irish] language in school", only for pupils to remember several phrases such as 'Go Tobann'. Alisha remarks, "I wanted to create a banger of a track that incorporated my own alternative sound with a twist by using some recognisable Irish phrases scattered throughout the song."
Throughout 2023 Alisha has had her releases featured on BBC Radio 1, and has performed at multiple festivals throughout her music career.
JyellowL - 'Judas'
Not to be mistaken for the Lady Gaga pop song with the same title, 'Judas' reflects the rap and hip hop genres JyellowL is known for. According to JyellowL his song emphasises the importance of "staying focused and faithful to [one's] vision irrespective of the challenges [one] faces in life."
JyellowL was born in Nigeria to parents of Jamaican and Nigerian ancestry. His real name is Jean-Luc Adenrele Ibrahim Koko Uddoh. JyellowL moved to Blanchardstown, Ireland at age 14 to live with his mother. In 2020 he released his debut album D/vision, which at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize was nominated for Irish Album of the Year.
Bambie Thug - 'Doomsday Blues'
Bambie Thug is a non-binary artist whose music has been described as "electro-rap, confrontational performance art and effervescent, late-night goth pop." As a songwriter their songs have garnered over 60 million streams. Like Isabella, Bambie told RTÉ that they have been a big fan of Eurovision from a young age, and in particular was obsessed with Loreen's 'Euphoria'.
Members of the Aussievision team have noted that the title of Bambie's song 'Doomsday Blues' is ironic given Ireland's recent horror run at Eurovision - the country has not qualified for the final since 2018. However Bambie told RTÉ they think they can change this unwanted streak as they are "the perfect wildcard." They go on to say: "I bring a unique song and performance that is both infectious, genre-defying and pushes the boundaries of anything Ireland has ever sent to Eurovision."
Next in Line - 'Love Like Us'
Next in Line consists of Conor Davis, Joshua Regala, Conor O'Farrell, Neung Kelly and Harry O'Connell. The members of the new boyband are all aged between 18 to 22. They were put together by Louis Walsh who is well-known for managing many successful Irish acts, including Eurovision winners Johnny Logan and Linda Martin, and boybands such as Westlife and Boyzone. Is this act the next boyband in line to represent Ireland at Eurovision after Wild Youth in 2023? We will have to wait and see.
The six acts will compete on The Late Late Show Eurosong special on Friday January 26 at 9:35pm Irish time. For Australians that is 8:35am AEDT on Saturday January 27.
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