🇮🇪 Erica-Cody: “Representation is everything”

Ireland is continuing its preparations for Eurosong 2024. As the artists gear up for the final on January 26th, Tim had the opportunity to speak with Erica-Cody. She is vying to represent Ireland in Malmö with her song “Love Me Like I Do”, where they talked about her beginnings, her Eurosong participation and what we can can expect even after Eurosong.

Hi Erica, I would just like to start things off by asking how you are doing today?

I’m doing great thank you! The last few weeks have been such a whirlwind so I’m just taking it in my stride and enjoying every moment of it!

We’ll start by getting to know you a bit more. Are you able to please give us a short introduction of yourself 

My name is Erica-Cody, I’m a singer, songwriter & producer from Dublin Ireland. I’ve been in the industry for around 10 years now, time has flown by!

I started out gigging at open mics, talent show etc until I got my first big gig supporting wizkid when I was 16. Since then I’ve gone on to release multiple singles, 2 EP’s (‘Leoness’ and ‘Love & Light’) and I’ve toured with and supported artists such as En Vogue, Mahalia, Jessie J & Raye .. just to name a few!

So naturally Eurovision felt like the next big thing on my bucket list to hopefully achieve. My mantra is go big or go home!

How does it feel to be in the running to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2024?

It’s super exciting! I’ve done so many big shows over the years that I think have definitely prepared me for a stage as big as Eurovision. It would be a dream come true and a stage I think I’m definitely ready for, it feels like the next natural step for me in my career so hopefully we make it to Malmö!

The first question I will ask about Eurosong is your entry “Love Me Like I Do”. What was your personal experience like recording the song, and telling us in your own words the message of your entry. 

I wrote it with my friends RuthAnne, Aimee & Richey McCourt at an Irish women in harmony writing camp. For those who don’t know Irish women in harmony is a collective of Irish female artists, we got together during lockdown and released a charity single for women and children who suffer from domestic abuse (safe Ireland) and we managed to raise over €250,000 for the charity! 

The day we wrote ‘Love Me Like I Do’ we went in with the idea of writing a love letter to ourselves. Once we had the title and the 80’s synth the song basically wrote itself. We honestly just treated this session like we would any other, in the hopes that it would end up in the right place with the right artist. As friends we knew all what we had been through in and out of love so it really came from a place of, if you don’t love yourself how can you love anyone else? Hence the Irish reference in the bridge  “is misé mná, is misé grá” (I am woman I am love) which we added in after we knew i’d put it in the running for Eurosong. It was super important for us to have that in their as it totally embodies the whole mantra of the song.

Fun fact, we say on the song for about a year and actually had some huge US & UK artists express interest in it, but as time went on and the Eurovision conversations started rolling the girls were like, “why would we give this to anyone else when we can have it as a homegrown anthem sang by a homegrown Irish artist (me!)”

“Love Me Like I Do” is such an energetic and powerful song, do you have a favourite lyric from the song? What is it and why is it your favourite lyric from your entry? 

Definitely “is misé mná, is misé grá”. When we added that into the song like a year later it fit like a glove, felt so right and was the missing piece of the puzzle.

We honestly never wrote “Love Me Like I Do” for Eurovision, we had the song for at least 2 years and funnily I had grá tattooed on my hand (before we added it into the song) and after we performed as Irish Women in Harmony on the MainStage at Electric Picnic 2023 all of us got “mná” tattooed to mark the occasion, so you could call it a happy accident but I call it fate! 

We are less than a couple weeks away from Eurosong, how are the preparations going for your performance? 

We’ve been rehearsing for quite some time now and the show is definitely coming together. Rehearsals are great, the team is great, and we’re just excited to show what we have to offer! (And it’s only going to be a taste of what we have in store for Malmö) 

Is there anything you can tell us about what we can expect from your performance? 

Get ready for energy and to be entertained! Also of course plenty of glitz. 

I wanted to ask you, Ireland has not qualified for the Final of the Eurovision Song Contest since 2018, if Ireland selects you as its representative for Malmö, what would you do in order to qualify for the final. 

Give them something undeniable. It’s in the pop capital of the world so it only feels right we send a big pop anthem with big production value. Well pull out all the stops! 

Prior to your participation later this month, you got some big news, and are now signed to Universal Music Ireland. What does it feel like to be signed to one of the biggest labels in the world, and what can we expect from your new releases going forward? 

Yes!! I’ve been independent for 7 years now and joining the Universal family feels like the perfect fit. The team are incredible and we haven’t even scratched the surface yet. We’ve so many big plans for the rest of the year with lots of new music. New sound, new vision with a new team and I couldn’t be more excited. Eurovision is such a huge stage, and has to much potential for having a career with longevity if you play your cards right, and that’s exactly what I’m aiming for. 

Finally, my last question for you is, when you step on the Late Late Show stage next week, what message would you like to send to the viewers who will be watching your performance. 

Representation is everything. When you see it , you believe you can be it. I just want to do everyone proud, and give them something to be proud of ❤

About Erica-Cody

Erica-Cody is a singer-songwriter who started her songwriting journey at the Age of 7. Since then, Erica-Cody has released numerous singles, 2 EP’s, and have performed for acts such as En Vogue, Mahalia, Jessie J & Raye. Erica-Cody will be participating at Eurosong with her entry “Love Me Like I Do”, which she co-wrote alongside Ruth Anne Cunningham, Aimee Fitzpatrick and RicheyMcCourt, with the latter producing the song.

Ireland’s Eurovision journey

In 1965, Ireland made their debut in the Eurovision Song Contest with Butch Moore and the song “Walking the Streets in the Rain”, which managed to place 6th. Since their debut, Ireland has participated 56 times (making the Grand Final 45 times), and has won the competition seven times, which is currently tied for the record of most wins.

Ireland’s latest Eurovision participation saw them being represented by Wild Youth, with their song “We Are One”. They placed 12th in the semi-final, receiving 10 points from the televote, missing out on the Grand Final.

What do you think of our interview with Erica-Cody? Do you think “Love Me Like I Do” will have a chance of representing Ireland in Malmö? Where does the song fall in your rankings? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Threads, Tumblr and Bluesky as we look ahead to Eurovision 2024!

News Source: That Eurovision Site

Photo Credit: Fiona Louise