Sex Pistols legend John Lydon’s attempt to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023 proved unsuccessful, as Wild Youth were selected to represent the country thanks to the public vote.
The Irish national final, known as Eurosong, took place recently during a special edition of The Late Late Show, with six acts competing for the prestigious opportunity of representing Ireland in Liverpool for Eurovision 2023.
The results were so close that it went down to the public vote, where Wild Youth won out as they were selected to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023 by a combination of TV viewers and national and international juries comprised of music experts.
Unlike last year, the jury panel in the studio did not have the final say in deciding the winning song. Instead, the winner was chosen by a combination of International and national juries and televoting results.
John Lydon’s song ‘Hawaii’ – in honour of his wife Nora
John Lydon’s group Public Image Ltd which he formed following his 1978 Sex Pistols split, was part of the six acts performed on the Eurosong show.
Lydon’s entry was his song ‘Hawaii’, in honour of his wife Nora, who has Alzheimer’s. Speaking about the reason for Lydon entering his song, host Ryan Tubridy said that it was a “beautiful reason” as to why Lydon wished to represent Ireland.
“We were talking about how neurologically, music can trigger something that allows people to remember. He loves his wife, wants her to be recognised, and wants her disease to be spoken about and eventually cured,” Tubridy explained.
Alzheimer’s sadly affects almost one million people in the UK and 55 million worldwide, with numbers expected to rise even more over the coming decades.
Dementia UK said, “By choosing to share his experience through this competition and his song Hawaii, more awareness can be raised about dementia”.
Wild Youth – a popular four-piece band from Dublin
Wild Youth, who was chosen to represent Ireland at the next Eurovision, are no strangers to success as this four-piece band from Dublin has not only had several top hits in Ireland but has also toured with big names such as Lewis Capaldi, Westlife and Niall Horan.
Their winning song, ‘We are One’, was written by the band and Swedish songwriter Jörgen Elofsson.
Before their victory in Dublin, Wild Youth said, “We are so delighted to be here. Eurovision is something we have always loved and would love to represent our country.
“We hope that everyone loves the song that we’ve written and believe we can be the band to represent Ireland this year”.
Ireland’s history at the Eurovision – a record to be proud of
Despite not experiencing much success at the Eurovision in recent years, Ireland has a record to be proud of as they hold the record for seven victories in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Ireland has been part of Eurovision since 1965, with 55 appearances. They have successfully qualified for the Grand Final 8 out of 18 times since the introduction of the Semi-finals in 2004.
Furthermore, Ireland holds the record for the most wins, having won seven times over the years, more than any other country.
