As this year’s Eurovision is imminent, the UK’s entry for the 2020 Song Contest has been announced. James Newman’s “My Last Breath” is this year’s track submitted for the competition, with the singer set to perform the song at the contest held on May 16 in Rotterdam.
“My Last Breath” is a track by English singer/songwriter James Newman. It is a heart-warming track in which Newman expresses his perseverance in the face of all difficulties he has to go through. “If we were deep-sea divers, and no one came to find us,” sings Newman. “If you had nothing left, I’d give you my last breath.”
This year’s UK musical warrior wrote this song when he was in Scotland with his fellow songwriters Ed Drewett, Iain James, and Adam Argyle. The song received an inspiration from a documentary about a diver in the North Sea who was rescued due to him getting lost with his crew, and the story has been portrayed in the music video for the track, which features Wim Hof, a Dutch cold water swimmer.
Newman has expressed his pride to be the UK’s representative for Eurovision this year, which fulfills his dream of becoming a performer: “Since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to be an artist and performer myself,” says James. “It just feels like the right time to start putting songs out.”
Newman is no stranger to the music scene in the UK. The singer is behind the success of smash hits with the likes of Calvin Harris’ “Blame” and Rudimental’s “Waiting All Night”, as he is one of the writers of those two tracks. Furthermore, Newman is a frequent collaborator with Rudimental for multiple tracks on their 2015 album We the Generation, with “Lay It All on Me” as one of the massive hits.
Interestingly, he already had an experience with Eurovision before his entry this year. Newman co-wrote Ireland’s 2017 bid “Dying to Try” by Brendan Murray; however, the track was not able to pass the semi-finals.
Newman also has many impressive credits for writing numerous songs with A-listed pop stars. Among the tracks he helps co-write appear Jess Glynne’s “All I Am”, Little Mix’s “Love Me Like You”, Kesha’s “Let Em Talk”, Louis Tomlinson’s “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”, and the list keeps going on.
Another fun fact: James Newman is the older brother of vocal powerhouse John Newman. And the brothers have helped each other write many songs together, one of which is John’s track “Fire in Me”.
UK’s entry this year is different from other previous entries. Normally, the song entry of the UK is chosen by the public-voted show Eurovision: You Decide. In contrast, 2020’s track is picked up by the BBC in partnership with BMG, the record label that signs James Newman, who shared the vision of “selecting a song with broad international appeal and securing an artist who embodies the spirit and values of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
James Newman will be the UK competitor for the finals of Eurovision in Rotterdam on May 16.
