BOYZONE'S MIKEY Graham and Irish Timescolumnist John Waters are among five songwriters to compete for the chance to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest, RTÉ announced last night.
More than 300 entries were received for this year's Eurosong competition. Five shortlisted songs will be performed on the Late Late Showon March 5th.
The winner will be decided by 50 per cent regional jury vote and 50 per cent public “tele-vote”.
Waters's song, Does Heaven Need Much More?, is co-written with Tommy Moran and sung by Leanne Moore. It faces competition from other high-profile entrants including former Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh, last year's Eurosong finalist, Lee Bradshaw, and Monik Ivkic, a runner-up in Germany's version of American Idol. Graham will perform the song Baby, Nothing's Wrong, which he co-wrote with Scott Newman and Yann O'Brien.
Waters's first foray into the field of Eurovision songwriting occurred in 2007, when he co-wrote Ireland's entry, They Can't Stop the Spring, with Moran. It finished last, with five points.
Waters said it was always his intention to return to song- writing. While he had previously described his Eurovision experience in negative terms, he added: “One can’t be imprisoned by one’s fast emotions.”
He described the song, which he and Moran have been working on since September, as “a dance number”.
Ireland’s winning entry will go forward to the Eurovision semifinal on May 27th. The final takes place in Oslo on May 29th.
