Sunday, February 8, 2009

UNITED KINGDOM 2009: Jade Ewen - My Time

Jade Ewen will perform for the UK in Moscow. The entry was chosen on January 31st in the final of the talent show Eurovision - Your Country Needs You! on BBC One.

Ah, the eternal second. Although, if truth be told, they haven't come anywhere near to deserving that title for years and years now. Unfortunately. The British have gotten themselves stuck in a vicious circle when it comes to the ESC - it's gotten a bad rep in the UK as being ridiculous and not worth the bother for serious performers (thanks for that, Terry Wogan) and so the real talent steer clear of it. So they send shitty songs and do very badly and that enhances the contest's negative reputation. And around and around we go. This year they're trying to change that, though - the preternaturally talented gnome king of the musical world has tried his hand at writing an ESC entry and the British people (or TV audience, whichever; I suspect the two may be largely interchangeable these days ;-) have picked a singer for him. So where will they end up this year??

The UK, being one of the Big Four, is assured a place in the final, so we will of course see this song there. Will it do well? I think, depending of course on the competition, which still is not quite clear, that it might. Apart from her unfortunate appearance in the lip area, Jade is a pretty girl ... and maybe the balloon lips will work in her favor as they may help her stick in viewers' memories. ;-) She has a very good voice. The BBC are clearly not afraid to dress her up in spectacular gowns. The song has sincerity, which will be in its favor if she can communicate it in her performance. The lyrics are sadly predictable, but as most of the audience won't understand English anyway, it will hardly matter. ;-) I like this song, but I am a huge Lloyd Webber fan, so that's not surprising. This isn't his best effort though, the song isn't a standout like some of his other work. But it's certainly quality craftsmanship, although not overly original. Trying to put my personal opinion aside ;-) I think that this is the best entry the UK has sent for years, and it has the potential to do quite well. It's not the winner though, that would surprise me very much. But it can do well, but that depends on the competition as well. This year though I do honestly wish the UK the best of luck. :-)

So, this is Jade Ewen performing My Time, written & composed by Diane Warren and Andrew Lloyd Webber who will be competing for the United Kingdom.



You can find the lyrics here.

2 comments:

Paz said...

a useless bit of info Terry Wogan is Irish. And the one songwriter that got them #1 and #2 is from Northern Ireland and is from the wrong side of the divide that would call himself Irish.
Still I should not be encouraging you in these matters.

Leisha Camden said...

LOL!! Here's a thought: Maybe Wogan has been working undercover all these years, doing his darnedest to turn the Brits against the ESC so that their efforts will all be worthless, thus making it that much easier for Ireland to do well ... ?? :-o

Unfortunately, that theory is completely undermined by that songwriter you mention. But still, it was fun while it lasted. ;-)