Despite technical difficulties during the performance by the losing contestant in RTÉ's You're A Star talent contest on Sunday night, the final two performers battling for Eurovision glory were announced yesterday.
Viewers voted for Mickey Harte (29), of Lifford, Co Donegal, and Simon Casey (22), of Ballycomber, Co Offaly, eliminating Fermanagh singer Michael Leonard (22).
On Saturday night, the successful pair will compete for the chance to sing for Ireland at the Eurovision song contest in Latvia in May. Around 650,000 votes were registered within the space of an hour on Sunday night and contest producers Shinawil expect this figure to increase after the final show.
Eliminated performer Michael Leonard yesterday expressed disappointment over a technical hitch which saw a brief loss of visuals during his performance of I Couldn't Love You More written by Ronan Keating, Callum MacCall and Brian Kennedy.
A spokeswoman for RTÉ said the problem was due to a breakdown between the studio in the Mahony Hall at the Helix in Dublin City University and the outside broadcast van. "The problem was rectified as quickly as possible. It was just one of those things," she said.
On Saturday night, Mickey Harte will sing the love song We've Got The World by Keith Molloy and Martin Brannagan. Simon Casey's song A Better Plan is written by Bryan McFadden of Westlife and focuses on the plight of people in war-torn and poverty-stricken countries.
McFadden's song was written in 10 minutes after the singer was moved by a programme he watched on TV. You're A Star began last October and has spawned a series of minor controversies over the voting system and the quality of some contestants. The final show will take place on Saturday at 8 p.m., with the live results the following evening at 8 p.m. on RTÉ 1.
