United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Blue | ||||
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Selected song | "I Can" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 11th, 100 points | |||
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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The
As a member of the "
Background
Prior to the 2011 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-three times.
The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC announced that the United Kingdom would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 on 20 December 2011.[2] BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. For their 2011 entry, BBC announced that they would opt to internally select the British entry due to poor results and decreasing public interest after a record low viewing figures had been achieved for the 2010 contest.[3] This marked the first time that an internal selection would take place to select United Kingdom's entry since their first entry in 1957.[4][5]
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
On 10 March 2011, the song "I Can" written by members of Blue Duncan James and Lee Ryan together with Ciaron Bell, Ben Collier, Ian Hope, Liam Keenan and StarSign was previewed and presented during a press conference, and was presented to the public on 11 March 2011 during the BBC One programme The Graham Norton Show, hosted by Graham Norton.[13]
Criticism
BBC's selection of Blue as the British representatives for the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest received criticism from British media. Matt Williams of The Independent referred the group as a "nineties boy band", while Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph labelled the group's selection as "boardroom meetings and internal discussions involving unspecified members of the BBC hierarchy, imposing both a band and a song on the British public" and "high handed Auntie-knows-best arrogance allied [...] to the pop instincts of out-of-touch bureaucrats".[14][15] Criticism was also made by Blue's former manager Daniel Glatman who described the group's decision to compete in Eurovision "reckless insanity", and by previously rumoured act Hurts which revealed that they had instead submitted their song to the Russian broadcaster "in light of the recent dark and depressing Eurovision news from the UK".[16][17] Blue subsequently stated that their Eurovision participation would serve as an international springboard for the group's reunion, pledging people to wait until the song release.[18][19]
Blue's contest entry was also met with criticism, including from television presenter Phillip Schofield who called it "a shocking song". The group responded to Schofield by calling his comments "upsetting" and "hurtful" as well as accusing him of seeking publicity from being overshadowed by Jason Gardiner on Dancing on Ice. Television presenter and Loose Women panellist Denise Welch also responded to Schofield in defense of the group, stating that the British public should support their act regardless of the song.[20][21] Prior to the contest, group member Simon Webbe expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of domestic support for "I Can" with few radio stations, including BBC stations, play-listing the song. A BBC spokesman later stated that their entry would be considered later on merit.[22]
Preparation
The first version of the official music video of "I Can", filmed on top of a building in London, was released on 12 March 2011 in order to promote the special BBC One documentary Eurovision: Your Country Needs Blue.[23] The official version of the music video was released by the BBC on 14 April 2011.[24]
Promotion
Blue made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "I Can" as the British Eurovision entry. On 12 February, Blue performed during the final of the
In addition to their international appearances, on 16 April, Blue were featured on the documentary Eurovision: Your Country Needs Blue, which covered the preparations of the band and featured advice from singers
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
In the United Kingdom, the semi-finals were broadcast on
Final
Blue took part in technical rehearsals on 7 and 8 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May. This included the jury final on 13 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. During the running order draw on 15 March which determined the running order of the British entry in the final, United Kingdom was drawn to perform in position 14, following the entry from Switzerland and before the entry from Moldova.[45][46] On the day of the final, the United Kingdom was considered by bookmakers to be the fourth most likely country to win the competition.[47]
The British performance featured the members of Blue, dressed in blue outfits, performing a choreographed dance routine on a predominately blue and green coloured stage which featured four small LED screens displaying images of the band members, the letters "I CAN" as well as other images such as rain and green lightning.[48] The band was joined by two male backing vocalists, Bryan Chambers and Daniel Thomas, dressed in black outfits.[49] The main LED screens displayed abstract images in shades of green that alternate during the performance, which also featured pyrotechnic effects.[50][51] The United Kingdom placed eleventh in the final, scoring 100 points.[52][53]
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding points from 1–8, 10 and 12 as determined by a combination of 50% national jury and 50% televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that the United Kingdom had placed fifth with the public televote and twenty-second with the jury vote. In the public vote, the United Kingdom scored 166 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 57 points.[54]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by United Kingdom in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Lithuania in the semi-final and to Ireland in the final of the contest.
Points awarded to the United Kingdom
Score | Country |
---|---|
12 points | Bulgaria |
10 points | Italy |
8 points | |
7 points | Malta |
6 points | |
5 points | |
4 points | |
3 points | |
2 points | |
1 point |
Points awarded by the United Kingdom
|
|
Detailed voting results
Draw | Country | Results | Points | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jury | Televoting | Combined | |||
01 | Poland | 8 | 8 | 5 | |
02 | Norway | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
03 | Albania | 2 | 2 | ||
04 | Armenia | ||||
05 | Turkey | 4 | 4 | 1 | |
06 | Serbia | 4 | 4 | ||
07 | Russia | ||||
08 | Switzerland | 5 | 5 | 2 | |
09 | Georgia | 2 | 2 | ||
10 | Finland | 8 | 3 | 11 | 6 |
11 | Malta | 1 | 1 | ||
12 | San Marino | ||||
13 | Croatia | ||||
14 | Iceland | 6 | 6 | 12 | 7 |
15 | Hungary | 10 | 7 | 17 | 10 |
16 | Portugal | 5 | 5 | 3 | |
17 | Lithuania | 12 | 10 | 22 | 12 |
18 | Azerbaijan | 7 | 7 | 4 | |
19 | Greece | 12 | 12 | 8 |
Draw | Country | Results | Points | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jury | Televoting | Combined | |||
01 | Finland | ||||
02 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||
03 | Denmark | 6 | 3 | 9 | 5 |
04 | Lithuania | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 |
05 | Hungary | 2 | 2 | ||
06 | Ireland | 8 | 12 | 20 | 12 |
07 | Sweden | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
08 | Estonia | ||||
09 | Greece | 4 | 4 | ||
10 | Russia | ||||
11 | France | ||||
12 | Italy | 10 | 10 | 7 | |
13 | Switzerland | 12 | 12 | 10 | |
14 | United Kingdom | ||||
15 | Moldova | 10 | 10 | 8 | |
16 | Germany | 1 | 1 | ||
17 | Romania | ||||
18 | Austria | 7 | 7 | 2 | |
19 | Azerbaijan | 1 | 1 | ||
20 | Slovenia | ||||
21 | Iceland | 8 | 8 | 4 | |
22 | Spain | 6 | 6 | 1 | |
23 | Ukraine | ||||
24 | Serbia | 5 | 5 | ||
25 | Georgia | 4 | 4 |
After Eurovision
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was watched by an average of 9.54 million viewers in the United Kingdom with a market share of 40.4%, more than double the previous year and making it the most watched Eurovision Song Contest final since 1999.[58][59] After the contest, "I Can" entered the top ten iTunes download charts in several European countries.[60]
References
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