My Last Breath
"My Last Breath" | ||||
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James Newman singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"My Last Breath" on James Newman | ||||
Language | English | |||
Lyricist(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
Entry chronology | ||||
◄ "Bigger Than Us" (2019) | ||||
"Embers" (2021) ► |
"My Last Breath" is a song by
Background
In an interview with BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat, Newman said he hoped his "simple, memorable and anthemic" song would help win votes at the Eurovision Song Contest. He felt his song would "connect" with the audience and said he has a "massive opportunity to get my song out to the world in such a big way". Newman is signed to BMG, who worked with the BBC to select and produce the UK's entry. After Newman was approached, he said he had a "little think" before saying yes but decided Eurovision was a "celebration of music". He said, "Since I was a little kid, I've always wanted to be an artist and performer myself. It just feels like the right time to start putting songs out."
The song was written in Scotland when Newman was staying near a loch with his friends Ed Drewett, Iain James and Adam Argyle. Newman said, "We were jumping in the loch every morning. This was January. It was freezing." The lyrics were inspired by a documentary about a diver in the North Sea who had to be saved after getting cut off from the rest of his crew, and the video features Dutch cold water swimmer
Eurovision Song Contest
The song would have represented the
Speaking about the plans for his Eurovision performance, Newman told British newspaper Metro:[3]
It was going to be me in this tundra kind of thing on top of a big cube that was going to look like it had water projected into it.
And I was going to be stood on top of it with a 3D girl projected into it and we’re going to interact from the outside. I was going to come down from the cube and all the water was going to flood out so it looked onto the screens and it was going to be this crazy thing happening.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Evening Standard | [4] |
The Guardian | [5] |
The Times | [6] |
My Last Breath received mixed reviews from music critics. In his review for
Louis Staples of
Others reacted more positively. Joe Anderton of Digital Spy described it as "a perfectly solid radio-friendly tune to launch a solo career with," although added that "it remains to be seen if it's got the drama to really stand out in the competition."[8] BBC music reporter Mark Savage noted that when played on Radio 1 between tracks by Harry Styles and Dua Lipa, "it didn't sound like his show had been hacked," concluding that "it doesn't feel like a winner but nor does it feel like an embarrassment. And that, at least, is progress."[2]
The song did, however, get relatively positive reviews in alternative programming in some countries. The Austria's
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "My Last Breath" | 2:35 |
Charts
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[14] | 15 |
Scotland (OCC)[15] | 23 |
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[16] | 23 |
Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 27 February 2020 | Digital download, streaming | BMG | [17] |
References
- ^ Santos, Pedro (27 February 2020). "James Newman to represent United Kingdom in Eurovision 2020". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ a b "James Newman to represent United Kingdom in Eurovision 2020". BBC News. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ Slater, Jack; Dickinson, Sophie (2021-03-11). "Who is James Newman, the UK's Eurovision 2021 entry?". Metro. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19.
- ^ a b Emblay, Jochan (27 February 2020). "James Newman's Eurovision song review: UK's 2020 entry is a nailed-on nil points". Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (27 February 2020). "James Newman: My Last Breath – UK Eurovision 2020 entry is serviceably bland". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ a b Hodgkinson, Will (27 February 2020). "James Newman: My Last Breath review — Eurovision entry that's simply too boring to win". The Times. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ^ Staples, Louis (27 February 2020). "The UK's bland Eurovision song sounds like a River Island pleather jacket, an X Factor winner's single and your uncle's midlife crisis". The Independent. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ Anderton, joe (27 February 2020). "Eurovision 2020 UK representative announced by the BBC". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ^ "Mr. Song Contest proudly presents – Der kleine Song Contest am 14., 16. und 18. April in ORF 1" (in German). ORF. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Iceland Wins Der kleine Song Contest Semi-Final One". Eurovoix. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ Dahlander, Gustav (3 April 2020). "Klart för Eurovision-vecka i SVT" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Eurovision 2020 special public broadcasting plans". European Broadcasting Union. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ "My Last Breath - Single by James Newman". Archived from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-03 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 202030 into search. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- ^ "My Last Breath by James Newman". Amazon Music. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
External links
- "My Last Breath" on YouTube