Ireland has spent so long in the Eurovision wilderness it’s becoming hard to remember those days when we dominated the world’s biggest singing contest. We haven’t reached the final since 2018, while last year, Sweden drew level with our record-breaking seven wins when Loreen carried the day in Liverpool.
Consequently, the stakes have never been higher as Ireland prepares to choose its representative for Eurovision 2024 at the Malmö Arena this May. All six finalists have now been unveiled in advance of a Late Late Show Eurosong Special on Friday, January 26th. Hold tight to your tiny Ireland flags as we bring you the must-read guide to the hopefuls.
Erica-Cody
Who are they?
R’n’B singer Erica-Cody Kennedy-Smith is a Billie Barry stage school graduate and former Dancing with the Stars contestant. Raised in Baldoyle, Dublin, she released her debut single, Addicted, in 2017 with an EP, Leoness, following two years later. She has long been outspoken about the racism she has experienced in Dublin. “I was always made to feel different,” she said of growing up mixed-race in the capital. Her father, Gerald, is a former professional basketball star who played against Michael Jordan in high school.
What’s the song?
Love Me Like I Do was co-written by Erica-Cody, fellow Irish pop singer Aimée, Grammy-nominated Ruth-Anne Cunningham and Will Young/Rebecca Ferguson producer Richey McCourt. It’s a mid-tempo electro-bopper looking for a sweet spot between Lady Gaga and Kim Petras, while its soaring “No one can love me like I do” chorus evokes Miley Cyrus’s Flowers and Loreen’s 2023 Eurovision winner Tattoo.
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“The song has never meant more to me than it does right now,” said Erica-Cody. “It really helped me get through one of the most challenging times in my life while navigating a break-up. The fact it was written by Irish women, it’s the ultimate feel-good, self-love anthem”.
Irish Times verdict
If Ireland wants to play it safe, Love Me Like I Do is the song to send – it has a sharp, bustling chorus, and Cody commits to the bruising lyrics. But you wonder whether it has enough edge to make it out of the semi-finals in Sweden.
Ailsha
Who are they?
Describing herself as “princess of misfits”, Wicklow-born Ailsha Davey has composed for video game soundtracks and worked as a make-up artist. She is the younger sister of singer Cathy Davey and daughter of Brendan Voyage composer Shaun Davey. Musically, Ailsha is a mix of metal and techno, her influences include game scores and genre-blending artists such as Nova Twins and Cassyette, who combine headbanging with pop.
“I initially started producing pop songs because I felt people would like them more. But then at the end of last year, I literally locked myself away and started writing rock songs,” Ailsha told Hot Press last year. “You have to go for it.
[ The Late Late Show’s Eurosong special: Everything you need to knowOpens in new window ]
What’s the song?
Go Tobann sends our native language into the dance floor’s forbidden zone with a hyper-pop stomp that interweaves techno, metal, traditional music and Junior Cert Irish. The internet has gone gaga for it – but is it a brave new future for Ireland at Eurovision or a novelty song on rocket boots? You also have to wonder whether its refrain of “An bhfuil cead agam dul amach go dtí an leithreas?” is a tribute to the Irish language or a punchline at its expense? That said, there’s no doubting the tune’s feel-good stomp or its stark, Enya-goes-raving energy.
Irish Times verdict
It makes you sit up and pay attention. Eurovision diehards are smitten and many will see the track’s playfulness, wit, and self-awareness as marking a new chapter for Ireland at Eurovision. Maybe we should wave caution goodbye and go for it.
JyellowL
Who are they?
Jean-Luc Uddoh spent his teenage years in Blanchardstown, having moved to Ireland from Benin City in Nigeria. His thoughtful and intense hip hop has featured on the soundtrack to the Fifa20 video game and on the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People. He received a Choice Music Prize Nomination for Year’s Best Irish Album for his 2020 debut DIVision and has since graduated from University College Dublin with a politics degree.
What’s the song?
Judas is a downbeat rap ballad showcasing JyellowL’s poetic word play, accompanied by a cloud-scraping gospel chorus from singer Toshín.
Irish Times verdict
Heartfelt and beautifully produced, Judas is a wonderful showcase for JyellowL, who was at school with previous Irish Eurovision representatives Jedward. But is it“Eurovision” enough to make an impact in Malmö?
Isabella Kearney
Who are they?
Raised between Donegal and Sydney, Kearney is today based in Nashville. Signed to Sony Australia, she has written for artists such as Brisbane pop duo The Veronicas, and her music is in the willowy vein of early Taylor Swift. “It’s always been a dream of mine to represent Ireland in Eurovision,” she told Radio One’s Ray D’Arcy this week. “It was such a big part of my childhood watching it with my mum, and I always wanted to make her proud by entering.”
What’s the song?
Let Me Be The Fire is the sort of generic Euro-stomper that goes down well with voting juries and is fuelled by an agreeable “da-da-da” chorus. It is extremely Eurovision. But is that enough?
Irish Times verdict
Surely the safest and most generic of the shortlisted songs – and while Kearney knows how to put together a tune, you wonder if it might just disappear into the crowd in Sweden.
Bambie Thug
Who are they?
“Ouija-pop” is the term the Macroom-born, London-based non-binary artist has coined for their mix of metal and pop. “I’m not very good at anger,” they told metal magazine Kerrang! last year. “I’m great at anger in songs. I don’t like fighting with people but I will hit them with my lyrical fist, no problem.”
What’s the song?
The ghost of Billie Eilish haunts Doomsday Blue – a nightmarish plunge into pop’s dark side that kicks off with an onslaught of funeral metal, segues into minimal electronica, and then back to cluttering industrial rock.
Sweet one minute, pummelling the next, it isn’t for everyone – much of the track’s power is from that relentlessness and unwillingness to compromise. The quality that makes it so striking is also the thing that may send some viewers running for the “mute” switch.
Irish Times verdict
Both beautiful and abrasive, Doomsday Blue is sure to have Marty Whelan’s moustache doing backflips. A challenging listen for newcomers to the Bambie Thug universe, maybe it is too avant-garde for Eurovision.
Next In Line
Who are they?
A five-piece boyband put together by Louis Walsh after auditioning more than 2,000 hopefuls. They are Conor O’Farrell, Nueng Kelly, Harry O’Connell, Conor Davis, and Joshua Regala.
What’s the song?
Love Like Us is a Dermot Kennedy-meets-BTS earnest bopper written by Cork songwriter Bill Maybury, who has collaborated with Cian Ducrot.
Irish Times verdict
One of the more conventional selections. It’s full of boy-next-door charm – but it does sound like The Script rebooted for Eurovision.
