It is hard to think of two institutions more distant from each other than the Late Late Show and the Eurovision Song Contest. The Late Late often has the air of a broadcasting relic – an heirloom nobody at RTÉ wants to grapple with for fear it might fall apart, and they’re left holding a random chair leg and/or Ryan Tubridy’s payslip. Eurovision, meanwhile, has evolved into a song-and-dance fantasia that delights in its ridiculousness and lives somewhere between the pop nirvana of Abba and the luciferin cosplay of Lordi.
This year, however, the Late Late Eurosong Special (RTÉ One, Friday , 9.35pm) takes an impressive swing at crossing the streams. It helps that new Late Late host Patrick Kielty is still deep in his Montrose honeymoon. Coming in from London, he is more delighted at fronting an RTÉ show than anyone with previous history at RTÉ could ever be. Plus, this year’s Eurovision line-up is that most un-Irish of things: mould-breaking, daring and a bit scary. And that’s just winner Bambie Thug’s backing horned dancers, who, in the best possible sense, gyrate like a purgatorial upgrading of Riverdance.
Eurovision fans haven’t been slow to make their feelings known about the 2024 shortlist. The consensus is that Macroom-born, non-binary “Ouija-pop’ artist Bambie is just the performer to create a splash at Malmö. There is also relief – going by social media anyway – that generic boy band Next In Line are not, in fact, next in line.
But enough about the music – as television, Eurosong 2024 is great fun. Once again, Kielty’s professionalism and cheery unflappability are huge assets. For instance, when guest panellist English singer Sonia declines to name her favourite act, Kielty gently presses. But he then sensibly gives up the ghost and moves on. I can think of at least one previous host who would have grilled her like an SAS corporal trying to break a new recruit.
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He’s also equally at home bantering with the fresh-faced Next In Line and with Bambie Thug, who, with contact lenses and “raptor nails”, looks like Tim Burton’s remake of Lady Gaga. In neither situation is Kielty other than friendly. He has that talent, rare among Irish presenters, for never, ever being condescending to his interviewees. There are no cringe moments – my toes remain merrily uncurled through the evening. When last have we been able to say that about a Eurovision-themed Late Late?
RTÉ had declined to share in advance the identity of its studio panel or its international and national judging committees. In the event, the studio panel consists of Sonia – the UK Eurovision singer pipped by Niamh Kanavagh in Millstreet in 1993 – alongside Dancing With the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian, radio presenter Louise Duffy and comedian Gearóid Farrelly.
As pointed out, Sonia is reluctant to bestow her blessing on any particular tune. But credit must go to Gourounlian, who, while consistently supportive, did have the courage to cast doubt on whether JyellowL’s laid-back rap number Judas is a good fit for the brief. “Does it have the power for Eurovision,” he says, shooting refreshingly from the hip.
Bambie Thug wins after a nail-biting face-off with Ailsha’s techno-folk epic Go Tobann (tensile-steel Eurofroth that doubles as a critique of the teaching of Irish in schools). But first there is the perplexing attempt by the international jury to sabotage the night by giving top points to the pleasant yet unspectacular Next In Line.
Happily, things are back on track as the combined national and views votes hand victory to – oh deer! – Bambie Thug and the track Doomsday Blue. Their sugar-and-spice mix of pop and industrial metal will undoubtedly land with a splash in Malmö.
Creating a splash is, meanwhile, the last thing the Late Late Show needs to do in light of recent controversies involving the brand. But Kielty has steered this hulking freighter with tremendous skill since taking over (let’s gloss over that atrocious new year episode, reportedly filmed in October) and should be praised for an assured Eurosong debut. It’s impossible to say how Ireland will do at Eurovision. But in tricky times, Kielty has again delivered a Late Late to savour.
