After Eurovision’s first semi-final took place last night, we have the first short list of those who will go ahead and compete in the grand final of the show on Saturday, May 11th one of which is Ireland’s own Bambie Thug. This will be Ireland’s first finalist since the beginning of Eurovision. The non-binary singer-songwriter (whose real name is Bambie Ray Robinson) from Cork combines the ballad-like voice of singers like Amy-Winehouse and Enya with the pounding, mechanised sound of heavy metal into what they describe as ‘Ouija pop’. Their sound pays tribute to Ireland’s pagan roots, stating in an interview with NME earlier this month that it has ‘been a form of therapy, putting an intention or feeling onto certain objects’ that being their music.
With the wave of rock and heavy metal sound slowly creeping its way into more mainstream media with Måneskin gaining some serious popularity after last years contest, are more experimental sounds finally getting the attention they deserve from the general public? Bambie Thug thinks so noting to NME that ‘Personally, I’m not one to shout…So for me, it’s really an outlet. Maybe people want a bit of a rush… Maybe that’s why they’re connecting with metal more, because it is a release.’ Has the wider world finally began to identify with the rush that metal and rock music provid? You decide for yourself and watch the video that goes alongside ‘Doomsday Blue’, Ireland’s entry this year, below.
Though Ireland has only around a 6% chance of winning as predicted by the Eurovisionworld website, Thug stated to NME that they are ‘never one to try and look at the odds…you could always beat the odds, because anyone can make the odds go up and down with a bit of money’ and told the platform that ‘the fact we (Ireland) are even in the top 10 is incredible. Bambie Thug will compete alongside Italy who are represented by Angelina Mango with the single ‘La noia’ and Croatia’s Baby Lasagna with the song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’ who, with a 30% chance, are in the running to win this year.
The final will take place in the Swedish city of Malmö after Sweden’s victory in 2023 with Loreen, formally known as Lorine Talhaoui, and her single ‘Tattoo’. Loreen has recently announced a UK and European tour beginning in the spring which kicks off in Birmingham on March 17 before she headlines London’s Eventim Apollo on March 19. The tour will continue on throughout the rest of the UK, ending in Dublin on March 27th. In an Instagram post dated 7th of May she told fans ‘Last year’s tour was one of the best times of my life…this next tour is all for you’. You can pre register for tickets here and they will go on sale from the 10th of May.
She is set to perform her newest single ‘Forever’ at the final this Saturday and the track will be released a day before. With the second leg of the semi-final fast approaching on the 9th of May, its still all to play (or sing) for. You can watch both the final and semi-final on BBC One at 8pm BST this Thursday and Saturday.
