United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

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Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country United Kingdom
National selection
Selection processEurovision: Your Country Needs You
Selection date(s)Introduction show:
3 January 2009
Heats:
10 January 2009
17 January 2009
24 January 2009
Final:
31 January 2009
Selected entrantJade Ewen
Selected song"It's My Time"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber
  • Diane Warren
Finals performance
Final result5th, 173 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

The United Kingdom and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) confirmed their participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia, despite their last place finish in 2008.[1] Jade Ewen was selected on 31 January 2009, to represent the UK at Eurovision with "It's My Time", a song composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics written by Diane Warren.[2] Coming fifth out of the forty-two countries participating, the United Kingdom achieved their highest placing since 2002, when they placed third.

Background[]

Main article: United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

The United Kingdom sent its fifty-second entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009. It automatically qualified to the final as one of the "Big Four" countries that pays the most money to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for the organisation of the event.

The United Kingdom's result history has varied. The country is one of the most successful at the contest, having won on five occasions (in 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997), however, it has only made the Top 10 on two occasions since the turn of the millennium, as well as coming last three times during that period (in 2003, 2008 and 2010). The leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, had called for the UK to withdraw from the 2009 contest due to the 2008 South Ossetia war, but to no avail.[3]

The British public broadcaster, the BBC broadcasts the event each year and organises the selection process for the entry. In all cases, a national final has selected the British Eurovision entry, varying between both a selection of performer and song, or just a song selection with an internal selection for the artist being held. For most years, the public had been able to vote for the winner, using in the past postcard voting, where the viewers sent postcards with their vote to the BBC, but more recently televoting.

Before Eurovision[]

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You 2009[]

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You 2009 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Six acts competed in four televised shows between 10 and 31 January 2009 held at the BBC Television Centre in London and hosted by Graham Norton.[4] All shows in the national final were broadcast on BBC One as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's website bbc.co.uk.[5]

Competing artists[]

On 18 October 2008, BBC announced an open submission for interested artists to submit their applications in the form of a video recording of themselves performing a cover version of a popular song or a self-written song. Eligible artists were those being 17 years old by 1 January 2009 and living in a country inside the European Economic Area. The application period lasted until 21 November 2008.[6][7] Swedish singer Nina Söderquist later stated that she had been approached by the BBC to compete in the national final following her performance in the musical comedy Spamalot on the London West End, however she declined the offer as she was selected to compete in the Swedish national final Melodifestivalen 2009.[8] All applicants were presented to a professional panel consisting of Andrew Lloyd Webber (composer of the British entry) and Colin Barlow (record company executive) that ultimately selected six contestants to compete in the national final.[9][10][11] The six competing artists were announced on 3 January 2009 during the introduction show.[12]

Artist Location
Emperors of Soul London
Charlotte Finlay Essex
Damien Flood London
Francine and Nicola Gleadall Sheffield
Jade Ewen London
Mark Evans North Wales

Results summary[]

Colour key
  Act received the most public votes
  Act was in the "danger zone"
  Act was eliminated by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Weekly results per act
Act Heat 1 Heat 2 Heat 3 Final
Jade Ewen Safe Safe Safe Winner
Nicola and Francine Safe Safe Safe Runner-up
Mark Evans Safe Safe Safe 3rd place
Emperors of Soul Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated
(Heat 3)
Charlotte Finlay Safe Eliminated Eliminated
(Heat 2)
Damien Flood Eliminated Eliminated
(Heat 1)

Shows[]

Introduction show (3 January 2009)[]

The introduction show was aired on 3 January 2009. The show involved the background preparation processes including the selection of the six contestants and the visitation of Norton and Lloyd Webber to Russia (at the venue of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Olimpiysky Arena), Poland and Hungary. The show also included meetings and interviews with the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and previous Eurovision Song Contest winner Dima Bilan, who won the contest for Russia in 2008 with the song "Believe", and several Russian Eurovision fans who suggested that the United Kingdom should avoid amateur artists and focus on a more professional approach to the contest.[13][14]

Back in Britain, Lloyd Webber teamed up with record company executive Colin Barlow, who has worked with the likes of Take That and Girls Aloud, having had 15 number ones and sold over 40 million albums as a producer, to help select the lucky six performers who will progress to the live shows. After seeing a number of entries sent into the BBC by the people, getting a "fabulous look at people's living rooms" as Norton said, we got a sense of who may be the future qualifiers to the live shows. After a number of auditions and workshops, showing some potential qualifiers rehearsing at their homes and elsewhere, the final six qualifiers were finally introduced. They were five-piece "man band" the Emperors of Soul, twins Francine and Nicola Gleadall and soloists Damien Flood, Charlotte Finlay, Mark Evans and Jade Ewen.[13][14] Viewing figures for the first show were successful, with an average of 4.9 million viewers watching the show, peaking at 5.6 million, a 21% share of the television audience.[15][16]

Heat 1[]

Six acts competed in the first heat on 10 January 2009. All contestants were also accompanied by a 17-piece band during their performances.[17][18] In addition to their performances, the female contestants performed "One Rock & Roll Too Many" from Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express, while the male contestants performed Boyzone's song "No Matter What". Guest performer was singer Lemar performing the song "Weight of the World" from his latest album The Reason.[19][20]

A panel of experts provided feedback alongside Lloyd Webber regarding the performances during the show. The panel consisted of Lulu (Eurovision Song Contest winner for the United Kingdom in 1969 with "Boom Bang-a-Bang") and Arlene Phillips (choreographer, talent scout and television presenter). A public televote saved four of the contestants from the "danger zone", while Lloyd Webber saved Charlotte Finlay and Damien Flood was eliminated. The first heat was watched by 5 million viewers in the United Kingdom, making it the third most watched programme on BBC One.[21]

Heat 1 – 10 January 2009
Order Artist Song (Original artist) Result
1 Emperors of Soul "Love Train" (The O'Jays) Safe
2 Mark Evans "Your Game" (Will Young) Safe
3 Charlotte Finlay "Because of You" (Kelly Clarkson) Danger Zone
4 Damien Flood "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Michael Bolton) Eliminated
5 Francine and Nicola Gleadall "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) Safe
6 Jade Ewen "Déjà Vu" (Beyoncé) Safe
Heat 2[]

The five remaining acts competed in the second heat on 17 January 2009. All contestants were also accompanied by a 17-piece band during their performances.[17][18] In addition to their performances, the female contestants performed DeBarge's song "Rhythm of the Night", while the male contestants performed Starship's song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". The contestants together also performed the winning song for the United Kingdom in 1976 "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Guest performer was the group The Saturdays performing the song "Up" from their latest album.[22][23][24]

A panel of experts provided feedback alongside Lloyd Webber regarding the performances during the show. The panel consisted of Lulu and Duncan James (singer, actor and member of Blue). A public televote saved three of the contestants from the "danger zone", while Lloyd Webber saved Emperors of Soul and Charlotte Finlay was eliminated.[25][26]

Heat 2 – 17 January 2009
Order Artist Song (Original artist) Result
1 Francine and Nicola Gleadall "The Promise" (Girls Aloud) Safe
2 Emperors of Soul "Kiss" (Prince) Danger Zone
3 Jade Ewen "The Voice Within" (Christina Aguilera) Safe
4 Charlotte Finlay "Rain on Your Parade" (Duffy) Eliminated
5 Mark Evans "Me and Mrs. Jones" (Billy Paul) Safe
Heat 3[]

The four remaining acts competed in the third heat on 24 January 2009. All contestants were also accompanied by a 17-piece band during their performances.[17][18] In addition to their performances, the female contestants performed The Pretenders' song "I'll Stand by You", while the male contestants performed Elton John's song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". Guest performers were Lulu performing the winning song for the United Kingdom in 1969 "Boom Bang-a-Bang", and singer-songwriter, rapper and dancer Alesha Dixon performing the song "Breathe Slow".[27][28]

A panel of experts provided feedback alongside Lloyd Webber regarding the performances during the show. The panel consisted of Dixon and Emma Bunton (singer-songwriter and actress).[26] The contestants each performed two songs: a ballad and an up-tempo song.[29] A public televote saved two of the contestants from the "danger zone", while Lloyd Webber saved Jade Ewen and Emperors of Soul were eliminated.[30][31]

Heat 3 – 24 January 2009
Artist Order First Song (Original artist) Order Second Song (Original artist) Result
Mark Evans 1 "Rock Your Body" (Justin Timberlake) 5 "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (Rod Stewart) Safe
Jade Ewen 2 "All by Myself" (Eric Carmen) 6 "Think" (Aretha Franklin) Danger Zone
Emperors of Soul 3 "Patience" (Take That) 7 "Uptown Girl" (Billy Joel) Eliminated
Francine and Nicola Gleadall 4 "About You Now" (Sugababes) 8 "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (The Everly Brothers) Safe
Final[]

The three remaining acts competed in the final on 31 January 2009. In addition to their performances, the contestants together performed the winning song for the United Kingdom in 1981 "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz. Guest performers included Lulu and the previously eliminated contestants Damien Flood, Charlotte Finlay and Emperors of Soul performing Dan Hartman's song "Relight My Fire", and Dima Bilan performing the song "Believe".[30]

A panel of experts provided feedback alongside Lloyd Webber regarding the performances during the show. The panel consisted of previous panellists Lulu and James. The contestants each performed three songs: a new song, a song previously performed by the artist during the preceding three heats and the British song "It's My Time".[32][33] A public televote selected Jade Ewen as the winning artist. The final was watched by 6.9 million viewers in the United Kingdom.

Final – 31 January 2009
Artist Draw First Song (Original artist) Draw Second Song (Original artist) Draw Eurovision Song Place
Jade Ewen 1 "Lady Marmalade" (Labelle) 6 "The Promise" (Girls Aloud) 9 "It's My Time" 1
Mark Evans 2 "Try a Little Tenderness" (The Commitments) 5 "Déjà Vu" (Beyoncé) 7 "It's My Time" 3
Francine and Nicola Gleadall 3 "Sweet About Me" (Gabriella Cilmi) 4 "Me and Mrs. Jones" (Billy Paul) 8 "It's My Time" 2

Promotion[]

For the first time, the British Eurovision entry was specifically promoted across Europe. Ewen's promotional tour started with an appearance at the Maltese national selection on 7 February 2009,[34] which was followed by a performance at the Greek national selection on 18 February 2009,[35] and one at Bosnia and Herzegovina's song presentation show on 1 March 2009.[36] On 7 March, she attended the Russian selection show, where it was rumoured that she may sing in Russian, but this failed to materialise and she subsequently sang in English.[37][38] Following Russia, Ewen performed at the Ukrainian national final on 8 March.[38]

The second UKEurovision Preview Party was held at the Scala Club in London on 17 April, where seven competing acts in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, coming from Poland, Ukraine, Iceland, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria and Ireland, performed along with three former Eurovision participants: Friðrik Ómar, 1/2 of the 2008 Icelandic entry Euroband, 1998 UK runner-up Imaani and the 2002 UK entry Jessica Garlick who came third.[39] The next day, 18 April, Ewen was one of 23 competing acts in the 2009 Contest to perform at a Eurovision concert in Amsterdam.[40] She also appeared on RTL 4's "Life and Cooking" while in the Netherlands.

Ewen also promoted her song by appearing on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 1 May, as well as Saturday Kitchen with James Martin on 2 May. On 3 May she appeared on Taniec z Gwiazdami, the Polish version of Strictly Come Dancing.[41] On 4 May, she was a guest on BBC One's The One Show, appearing alongside Arlene Phillips.

In the week before the Contest, Ewen's Russian promotion included a free copy of her entry, It's My Time, being given away with copies of the Russian OK! Magazine. The magazine also included an interview with Jade, where she announced that she would be delighted to receive 12 points from Russia.[42]

At Eurovision[]

Jade Ewen at the Final

The United Kingdom and other "Big Four" countries automatically qualified for the final.[43] On 16 March 2009, it was decided that the United Kingdom would perform in the final in the 23rd position.[44][45] At the contest, Jade was accompanied on stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who played the piano during the performance.[46] Jade wore a dress that was designed by the designer Amanda Wakeley.[47] Arlene Philips was hired to choreograph the final performance.

Terry Wogan announced he would not be returning as commentator for 2009, a role he has performed continuously since 1980. He was succeeded in the role by Graham Norton, host of the Eurovision Dance Contest 2007 and 2008.[48][49][50] Paddy O'Connell and Sarah Cawood commentated during the two semi finals.[51] The results of the UK televoting were announced by former Blue singer, Duncan James. At the end of voting, the UK received 173 points, placing the country fifth.[52] The show received an average of 7.8 million viewers, which is a 35.3% share of the UK TV audience.[53]

Voting[]

Points awarded to the United Kingdom[]

Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Final)[54]
Score Country
12 points  Greece
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by the United Kingdom[]

Detailed voting results[]

Detailed voting results from the United Kingdom (Final)[56][57]
Draw Country Results Points
Jury Televoting Combined
01  Lithuania 8 8 4
02  Israel
03  France 4 4 1
04  Sweden
05  Croatia
06  Portugal 1 1
07  Iceland 10 5 15 8
08  Greece 10 10 5
09  Armenia 2 2
10  Russia
11  Azerbaijan 1 4 5 3
12  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 3
13  Moldova
14  Malta 7 6 13 6
15  Estonia
16  Denmark 3 3
17  Germany 12 2 14 7
18  Turkey 6 12 18 12
19  Albania
20  Norway 8 7 15 10
21  Ukraine 5 5 2
22  Romania
23  United Kingdom
24  Finland
25  Spain

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External links[]

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