United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
| Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  United Kingdom | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Eurovision: Your Decision | |||
| Selection date(s) | 1 March 2008 | |||
| Selected entrant | Andy Abraham | |||
| Selected song | "Even If" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 25th, 14 points | |||
| United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
The United Kingdom chose their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 on the BBC programme Eurovision: Your Decision. It replaced the former selection programme, Making Your Mind Up after a string of bad results. It was broadcast on BBC One on Saturday 1 March 2008.
Andy Abraham was the winner of the contest with the song "Even If" and went on to represent the United Kingdom in Belgrade, Serbia.[1] As a member of the 'Big 4', the United Kingdom was one of five countries directly qualified into the final on 24 May 2008 and does not need to compete in either of the semi-finals, although it was able to vote in the second of the two semi-finals.
Before Eurovision[]
Early rumors[]
One of the rumours about the show was that the finalists of UK TV shows How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do would participate in a newly revamped Making Your Mind Up with songs written by the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gary Barlow.[2] This format was partially used in the final format, with one of the categories being 'Joseph Vs. Maria', with one artist from each show competing to make it into the semi-final.
There were wide sweeping rumours about which artists were going to try for Eurovision, one in particular was Bill Bailey however his tour in Australia kept him out, however he said that he might try out for next year. Ultimately, Terry Wogan announced on 13 February 2008 on his radio show, Wake Up To Wogan, that a new national final show would replace Making Your Mind Up.
Eurovision: Your Decision[]
Eurovision: Your Decision was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Six acts competed in a televised show on 1 March 2008 held at the BBC Television Centre's Studio 8 in White City, London and hosted by Mel Giedroyc. The winner was selected by a professional jury panel and a public vote. The show was broadcast on BBC One.
Competing entries[]
Phil Parsons and Helen Tumbridge were appointed as the new producers of the national final and headed the selection of six finalists to compete in the national final.[3] The six competing artists, split into three categories: soloists, girl groups and Joseph v Maria (consisting of the two finalists from reality television shows Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?), were announced on 18 February 2008.[4] The competing songs were previewed during The One Show on BBC One, hosted by Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles, between 26 and 28 February 2008.[5]
Final[]
Six acts competed in the televised final on 1 March 2008. In addition to their performances, the guest performer was Katrina Leskanich, who won the contest for the United Kingdom in 1997 as the lead vocalist of the band Katrina and the Waves performing the song "Love Shine a Light".[6]
The winner was selected over three rounds of voting. In the first round, a panel of experts provided feedback regarding the songs and selected one song from each of the three categories to proceed to the second round. The panel consisted of Terry Wogan (British Eurovision Song Contest commentator), John Barrowman (actor, dancer, singer and television presenter) and Carrie Grant (member of the 1983 British representatives Sweet Dreams, vocal coach and television presenter). An additional song was selected by Wogan from the remaining three songs to proceed as a wildcard. In the second round, the top two songs were selected entirely through a public televote from the remaining four acts to proceed to the final round, during which the public selected the winner from the two remaining songs.[7]
First Round[]
In the first round, the expert panel selected "It's You" performed by The Revelations, "Changes" performed by Simona Armstrong and "Woo (U Make Me)" performed by Michelle Gayle to proceed to the second round, while Terry Wogan selected "Even If" performed by Andy Abraham as the wildcard.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Votes of the expert panel | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrowman | Grant | Wogan | Total | |||||
| Duel 1 – Girl Groups | ||||||||
| 1 | LoveShy | "Mr. Gorgeous" | Oscar Gorres, Teresia Bjarneby, Aimee Kearsley, Emma Beard | N/A | 0 | Eliminated | ||
| 2 | The Revelations | "It's You" | Adam Howorth | X | X | N/A | 2 | Advanced |
| Duel 2 – Joseph v Maria | ||||||||
| 3 | Rob McVeigh | "I Owe It All to You" | Paul Barry, Mark Read | 0 | Eliminated | |||
| 4 | Simona Armstrong | "Changes" | Simon Ellis, Emma McGettrick, Mari Loretzen, Eleanor Wilson, Caroline Reed | X | X | X | 3 | Advanced |
| Duel 3 – Soloists | ||||||||
| 5 | Michelle Gayle | "Woo (U Make Me)" | Michelle Gayle, Morten Schjolin, Rashelle Davies | X | X | X | 3 | Advanced |
| 6 | Andy Abraham | "Even If" | Andy Abraham, Paul Wilson, Andy Watkins | 0 | Wildcard | |||
Second Round[]
In the second round, a public televote selected "Woo (U Make Me)" performed by Michelle Gayle and "Even If" performed by Andy Abraham to proceed to the final round.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Revelations | "It's You" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Simona Armstrong | "Changes" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Michelle Gayle | "Woo (U Make Me)" | Advanced |
| 4 | Andy Abraham | "Even If" | Advanced |
FInal Round[]
In the final round, the public televote selected the winner, "Even If" performed by Andy Abraham.[8]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michelle Gayle | "Woo (U Make Me)" | 2 |
| 2 | Andy Abraham | "Even If" | 1 |
At Eurovision[]
As one of the 'Big 4' countries, UK automatically qualified for the final on 24 May 2008. In the final he performed second following Romania and preceding Albania. Although Andy did hope the song would make a good showing in Belgrade, his task was not made easy. He came last with only 14 points. Following Eurovision tie-breaking rules, the United Kingdom was placed last overall as it had fewer 12-point votes than Germany and fewer 10-point votes than Poland.[9]
Paddy O'Connell and Caroline Flack provided commentary for the semi-finals broadcast on BBC Three, with commentary during the final provided by Terry Wogan on BBC One and Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2.[10] Carrie Grant was the UK spokesperson who announced the results of the UK's televote.[11]
Voting[]
Points awarded to the United Kingdom[]
| Score | Country |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points |  Ireland
|
| 7 points | |
| 6 points |  San Marino
|
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
Points awarded by the United Kingdom[]
|
|
After Eurovision[]
BBC Eurovision host Terry Wogan called Abraham's song, "Even If", "the best UK entry for a while",[14] expressed frustration with the contest result and suggested that Britain follows Italy's suit and no longer enter the competition.[15] In his radio show on 27 May, Wogan remarked on a conversation with Abraham, who had said that he was not expecting a high vote for the usual 'block voting' reasons, and 'another reason' which Wogan was not prepared to discuss on air, presumed to be related to Abraham's race. In an interview, Swedish group Bodies Without Organs stated that if the UK put in more effort then they can win. They also mentioned in the interview that they had been invited to participate in a United Kingdom national final before, but refused as they were not allowed to write their own song.[16]
References[]
- ^ Schacht, Andreas (1 March 2008). "UK selects Andy Abraham!". www.eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
- ^ Reality stars to sing in Eurovision for Britain - Sunday Mirror Archived 23 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Royston, Benny (14 January 2008). "Exclusive: UK Decides on March 1st". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ Royston, Benny (18 February 2008). "UK: Soloists, Girl Groups and Joseph Vs. Maria". Esctoday.
- ^ Lewis, Cole (28 February 2008). "UK: Previews of UK Finalists on BBC1". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ Lewis, Cole (1 March 2008). "Live: United Kingdom – National Final Results". Esctoday.
- ^ "Eurovision – Your Decision". BBC. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "UK selects Andy Abraham!". eurovision.tv. 1 March 2008.
- ^ "Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ Press Office (2 May 2008). "Eurovision Song Contest 2008: BBC coverage". BBC. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ "Talking Shop: Carrie Grant". BBC News. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Results of the Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "Russia scoops Eurovision victory". BBC News. 24 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ Staff writer (25 May 2008). "Wogan 'may quit Eurovision role'". BBC News Online. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ Levine, Nick (1 August 2008). "Music - Interview - BWO - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
- 2008 in British music
- United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest