Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Ireland's Sarah McTernan with "22"...
We now come to Ireland, who at one time were the powerhouses of the competition, still claiming the record of amount of wins in Eurovision with seven, including three years in a row. But since the new millenium their record has been really spotty, with no top-3 finishes since 1997 but a pair of last-place entries and semi-final non-qualifiers. After four of the latter, singer Ryan O'Shaughnessy brought Ireland back to the finals with the absolutely sublime "Together", which was one of my favorites last year. The love song, adorned with a music video and event staging that featured a male same-sex couple, grabbed the hearts of many without being cheesy or stuntish, and ended up in a somewhat respectable 16th place (it deserved so much better). It made history at the show for being the first depiction of an LGBT couple, and the song became a top-20 hit in Ireland as well. Here's the performance from the show, which despite Ryan's pitch issues simply gave me goosebumps...
So will Ireland be able to use the momentum to qualify this year as well? It's going to be a tougher road...
Ireland - "22" from Sarah McTernan
McTernan, born in the western village of Scarriff in County Clare, was selected by the Irish broadcaster to go to Tel Aviv, as was the case with Ryan and the last three years. She was a contestant on The Voice Of Ireland, though she didn't win and came in third. Her voice had a strange affected delivery at the time, which since then she thankfully dropped for this endeavor. She tried out for Eurovision last year in the microstate of San Marino, but now she'll be better off representing her homeland. "22", written by Dutch singer/songwriter Javieck Devy (who had an international hit with "Reality" with DJ Lost Frequencies, along with fellow Dutch artists Marci "Misha" Sondeijker, and Roel Rats, is a pleasant if not too striking retro-pop midtempo song with the title signifying the house number of a former lover...
Well as much as Sarah's voice is smoky and warm and as I mentioned "pleasant" in terms of a radio listen, the song itself is pretty static and loses track after the first minute, not really offering any build or path to a resolution or an epiphany, just a girl driving around the block like a stalker. Anyhoo, I'm not sure how this will translate on stage, but unfortunely she's been put in the "slot of death" in the already competitive second semi-final, performing second in the running order, and I fear people will just simply forget this by the end of the show when it comes time to vote. And her range (and the range written for this) is quite small, with almost a linear road through it that just doesn't really make a moment stand out (even on her given "power note"). And nice as she is, listening to her performances on The Voice don't really stray from that. So while "22" isn't an embarrassment by any means, it's definitely a step back from last year and I really doubt that this will qualify for the finals. (Rating: 4/10)
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Ireland has been competing in Eurovision since 1965, only missing two years, and as I had said holds the record for most wins in the contest. The first time came in 1970, when Dana Scallon, as just Dana, took the prize with "All Kinds Of Everything". That song became a huge international hit, topping the singles charts in Ireland and the UK. Dana later became a member of the European Parliament after the set up of the EU...
The country's second win came ten years later, when Johnny Logan took "What's Another Year" to the top. The song also topped the British and Irish singles charts, and this ballad again was a hit all across Europe...
In 1987, Logan came back and earned the nickname of "Mr. Eurovision" by doing what no other act has since done, claiming a second victory with "Hold Me Now", which again went to #1 in Ireland and #2 in the UK and Germany, and even was borrowed for a McDonalds ad...
And not content to rest on his laurels, Logan wrote the next song to win Eurovision for Ireland, "Why Me?", which was sung by Linda Martin (who was from Belfast in Northern Ireland) in 1992. In 1984, she also competed with "Terminal 3" (also written by Logan) and came in second place. "Why Me?" was another chart-topper in Ireland, but didn't even place in the top-40 in Britain...
The following year, when the Contest was held in Dublin because of the win, Niamh Kavanaugh made it two in a row with "In Your Eyes". Written by New Yorker Jimmy Walsh, the original demo of the song was done by a young Idina Menzel, who would later become a Broadway legend. "In Your Eyes" again topped the Irish chart and this time made the top-40 in the UK (#24). She went on to compete again in 2010, with much lesser results, coming in 23rd. But this one is my favorite of Ireland's winners...
Ireland made history in 1994 when Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan, two older gents who only were accompanied by their piano and guitar, won the prize for a third consecutive year with "Rock and Roll Kids". It's my least favorite of the wins, being a little too nostalgic and patronizing to the "older rockers" for my taste...
After a year where they came in 14th, Ireland claimed victory for the seventh and so far most recent time in 1996 with Eimear Quinn, who sang traditional Celtic music, with "The Voice". This was written by Brendan Graham, who also penned "Rock and Roll Kids". The song hit #3 in Ireland and slipped into the British Top-40 at #40...
In the 1990s Ireland placed in the top ten eight years out of ten. Simply stunning, but equally stunning is that they haven't placed higher that eighth place (with Jedward's excrable "Lipstick") since 2000. In terms of my favorite from the country, besides the winners from Kavanaugh and Logan, I will always have a soft spot for O'Shaughnessy's "Together". Here's the original video...
And for a country that sent fucking Jedward to Eurovision not once, but twice, the most horrid entry from Ireland is not from them, but in 2008 when "puppet" Dustin The Turkey was somehow chosen to perform in Belgrade with the middle finger salute of "Irelande Douze Pointe", referring to the highest amount of points a country can award another in the voting. The fact that they didn't qualify for the final was comforting, but imagine being one of the four acts in the semis this did better than?
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