UK Eurovision entrant James Newman has today released his entry for the 2021 contest, Embers. Have a listen to the song here!
Before the song aired on BBC Radio 2 for the first time, James discussed the writing process of the song. He and his co-writers set out to “create a banger” after everything we have experienced in the last year. “It’s just a really fun song.”
As a member of the Big Five, the UK’s song automatically has a place in the final. It is the last of the automatically qualifying entries to have been released, following Voilà for France, I Don’t Feel Hate for Germany, Voy A Quedarme for Spain, Zitti E Buoni for Italy and Birth of a New Age for host nation The Netherlands. However, the UK will vote for the other countries which will join them on Saturday night as part of the second semi-final.
James Newman was the UK’s intended representative for the 2020 contest prior to its cancellation. He would have performed My Last Breath. Both songs have been created as part of a partnership between the BBC, the UK broadcaster, and record label BMG.
What do we think of the UK’s entry this year?
Jazzi – I really like this, it’s very reflective of music in the U.K. industry now, I can definitely see this getting a decent result in May. I am just glad we are sending something that doesn’t feel like a typical “paint by numbers” song! Will it win? No. Could it sneak in the Top 10 with the right staging? Yes!
Rory – I had read that an insider had called this song “Danish-sounding” and “inoffensive”. Well, they couldn’t be more wrong! This song is so radio friendly, I can see it easily slipping into heavy rotation on the big radio stations here. I get a real Rudimental vibe with this, and I do like it. The one caveat is that I’m usually just not a fan of anything that’s on British radio, because it all sounds the same. However, I’m absolutely sure James is going to nail the performance in may and the UK can get a respectable place to build on in later years.
Rosie – The BBC and BMG have said that the goal over the next few years is to improve the public image of the contest and improve our results, aiming for the left-hand side of the scoreboard. It’s a very strong year, but it feels like a very achievable goal for Embers! There are some aspects of the song I love – the brass-heavy instrumental, James’ fantastic voice, and the sense of fun it clearly brings. It lacks the depth and meaningfulness to come near the top of my personal ranking, but I’m still very happy with it as a choice.
Is this the song to relight the UK’s fire, or is it just a pile of ash? Let us know your thoughts!
