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United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

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Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country United Kingdom
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)7 March 2015
Selected entrantElectro Velvet
Selected song"Still in Love with You"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result24th, 5 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 • 2015 • 2016►

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Still in Love with You" written by David Mindel and Adrian Bax White. The song was performed by the duo Electro Velvet, which was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Electro Velvet and "Still in Love with You" was announced as the British entry in a special presentation show titled Our Song for Eurovision 2015 broadcast on the BBC Red Button service in March 2015.

As a member of the "Big Five", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 5, the United Kingdom placed 24th out of the 27 participating countries with 5 points.

Background

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Main article: United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2015 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-seven times.[1] Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, thus far only finishing within the top ten twice: in 2002 with the song "Come Back" performed by Jessica Garlick and in 2009 with the song "It's My Time" performed by Jade Ewen. For the 2014 contest, the United Kingdom finished in seventeenth place out of twenty-six competing entries with the song "Children of the Universe" performed by Molly.

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 2015 on 9 September 2014.[2] Between 2011 and 2013, BBC opted to internally select the British entry, a selection procedure that continued for their 2014 entry.[3]

Before Eurovision

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Internal selection

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Electro Velvet were internally selected to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

On 6 October 2014, BBC announced that the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 would be selected internally. An open submission was announced for interested artists to submit their songs in the form of a video recording until 7 November 2014.[4] In addition to the open call, the BBC also considered entries provided by record labels and music industry experts including writers, producers and artists from the BBC Introducing platform.[5][6] The 300 received submissions were reviewed by a professional panel headed by British Eurovision executive producer and Head of Delegation Guy Freeman, and a twelve-song shortlist was compiled and presented to an alternate twelve-member panel that ultimately selected the British entry.[7] On 24 February 2015, Guy Freeman revealed that the British artist and song would be revealed on 7 March 2015 on the BBC Red Button service.[8][9][10]

On 7 March 2015, the song "Still in Love with You" written by David Mindel and Adrian Bax White and performed by the duo Electro Velvet was revealed as the British entry during the show Our Song for Eurovision 2015, hosted by Scott Mills on the BBC Red Button service. The song was also presented to the public on the same day through the release of the official music video via the official Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel. Electro Velvet consists of singers Alex Larke and Bianca Nicholas, and was formed specifically for the Eurovision Song Contest.[11]

Promotion

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Electro Velvet made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Still in Love with You" as the British Eurovision entry. On 10 April, Electro Velvet performed during the Eurovision PreParty Riga, which was organised by OGAE Latvia and held at the Palladium in Riga, Latvia.[12] On 18 April, Electro Velvet performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Edsilia Rombley.[13] On 24 April, Electro Velvet performed during the Eurovision Pre-Party, which was held at the Place de Paris Korston Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia.[14]

In addition to their international appearances, On 26 April, Electro Velvet performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.[15] On 8 May, Electro Velvet were part of the guest line-up for the BBC One programme The Graham Norton Show where they performed "Still in Love with You" live and were interviewed by host Graham Norton.[16]

At Eurovision

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Electro Velvet during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[17] As a member of the "Big Five", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final on 23 May 2015. In addition to their participation in the final, the United Kingdom was also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 26 January 2015, the United Kingdom was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 21 May 2015.[18]

In the United Kingdom, the semi-finals were broadcast on BBC Four with commentary by Scott Mills and Mel Giedroyc.[19] The second semi-final was simulcast on BBC Radio 2 Eurovision, a pop-up DAB station, with commentary from Ana Matronic.[20] The final was televised on BBC One with commentary by Graham Norton and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 2 Eurovision with commentary by Ken Bruce. The British spokesperson, who announced the British votes during the final, was Nigella Lawson.[21]

Final

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Electro Velvet during a rehearsal before the final

Electro Velvet took part in technical rehearsals on 17 and 20 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May. This included the jury final where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[22][23][24] After technical rehearsals were held on 20 May, the "Big Five" countries, host country Austria and special guest Australia held a press conference. As part of this press conference, the artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. The United Kingdom was drawn to compete in the first half.[25] Following the conclusion of the second semi-final, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. The United Kingdom was subsequently placed to perform in position 5, following the entry from Estonia and before the entry from Armenia.[26]

The British performance on stage featured the members of Electro Velvet performing on stage with the LED screens displaying Art Deco designs and flashing lights that transitioned to neon colours. The performance began with each member of the duo making their entrance from a staircase prop and were then joined by two male and two female backing vocalists. Bianca Nicholas was dressed in a cerise pink 1920s style dress while Alex Larke was dressed in an aubergine coloured suit. The female backing vocalists were dressed in purple while the male backing vocalists were dressed in black and white. Each of the performers' outfits and the staircases were also equipped with lights that would turn on when the stage transitioned to darker neon colours. The backing vocalists that joined Electro Velvet for the performance were Scarlette Douglas, Sophie Carmen Jones, Chris Arias and Ryan Heseltine.[22][23][27] The United Kingdom placed twenty-fourth in the final, scoring 5 points.[28][29]

Voting

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Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant 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 could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.[30]

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 twenty-fourth with the public televote and twenty-third with the jury vote. In the public vote, the United Kingdom scored 7 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 12 points.[31]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Points awarded to the United Kingdom

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Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Final)[32]
Score Country
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points
5 points
4 points
3 points  San Marino
2 points
1 point

Points awarded by the United Kingdom

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Detailed voting results

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The following members comprised the British jury:[30]

  • David Arch (jury chairperson) – musical director, musician, composer, arranger
  • Mark De-Lisser – vocal coach
  • Thomas Blaize – singer, songwriter, composer
  • Yvie Burnett – singer, mezzo-soprano, vocal coach
  • Pandora Christie – radio/TV presenter
Detailed voting results from the United Kingdom (Semi-final 2)[34]
Draw Country D. Arch M. De-Lisser T. Blaize Y. Burnett P. Christie Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Lithuania 12 13 10 16 11 14 1 8 3
02  Ireland 9 3 4 4 1 2 6 3 8
03  San Marino 16 16 15 17 17 17 17 17
04  Montenegro 13 15 8 13 16 15 14 15
05  Malta 4 5 9 5 3 3 10 6 5
06  Norway 6 6 14 3 6 7 8 9 2
07  Portugal 3 8 16 9 9 9 9 10 1
08  Czech Republic 15 7 5 6 10 8 13 12
09  Israel 2 2 6 1 2 1 5 1 12
10  Latvia 7 1 3 15 4 4 3 2 10
11  Azerbaijan 17 11 7 10 14 13 16 16
12  Iceland 14 14 17 12 13 16 12 14
13  Sweden 1 4 12 7 7 6 4 4 7
14   Switzerland 8 10 13 14 8 11 15 13
15  Cyprus 10 12 2 2 5 5 7 5 6
16  Slovenia 5 17 1 8 15 10 11 11
17  Poland 11 9 11 11 12 12 2 7 4
Detailed voting results from the United Kingdom (Final)[35]
Draw Country D. Arch M. De-Lisser T. Blaize Y. Burnett P. Christie Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Points
01  Slovenia 8 20 4 10 11 10 23 17
02  France 21 13 12 21 20 20 26 25
03  Israel 4 9 6 1 3 3 10 6 5
04  Estonia 20 18 23 23 6 21 12 15
05  United Kingdom
06  Armenia 25 25 24 25 23 25 22 26
07  Lithuania 14 19 13 13 16 14 1 7 4
08  Serbia 18 15 8 9 15 12 9 10 1
09  Norway 7 12 17 14 10 11 17 13
10  Sweden 1 1 1 3 7 1 3 1 12
11  Cyprus 6 11 9 8 8 7 14 11
12  Australia 3 3 5 2 1 2 5 2 10
13  Belgium 11 5 2 18 9 8 8 8 3
14  Austria 10 21 22 17 13 16 21 20
15  Greece 19 17 20 12 14 15 18 16
16  Montenegro 16 16 15 20 18 18 25 23
17  Germany 13 10 16 7 2 9 20 14
18  Poland 12 14 14 22 21 17 2 9 2
19  Latvia 9 2 3 15 5 5 6 4 7
20  Romania 24 24 21 16 24 24 11 18
21  Spain 17 8 25 5 12 13 13 12
22  Hungary 15 23 7 24 26 23 19 22
23  Georgia 23 6 19 19 19 19 16 19
24  Azerbaijan 22 22 18 11 22 22 24 24
25  Russia 5 4 11 4 17 6 7 5 6
26  Albania 26 26 26 26 25 26 15 21
27  Italy 2 7 10 6 4 4 4 3 8

References

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  1. ^ "United Kingdom | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (9 September 2014). "United Kingdom: BBC confirms participation in Eurovision 2015". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  3. ^ Weaver, Jessica (6 October 2014). "United Kingdom: BBC call for song submissions". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  4. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (6 October 2014). "BBC launches open selection for 2015 British entry". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest: BBC asks public for entries". BBC News. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  6. ^ Freeman, Guy (6 October 2014). "Looking forward to 2015". BBC. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  7. ^ "United Kingdom: "Our song is a contrast to last year" – Guy Freeman". Escxtra.com. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  8. ^ Freeman, Guy (24 February 2015). "Coming soon: The UK Eurovision reveal". BBC Eurovision Blog. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  9. ^ Weaver, Jessica (7 March 2015). "Tonight United Kingdom's act presented". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  10. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (24 February 2015). "United Kingdom entry to be revealed on 7th March". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  11. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (7 March 2015). "Electro Velvet to represent the United Kingdom". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  12. ^ "17 April 2015". eurovision.tv. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  13. ^ Fuster, Luis (20 April 2015). "Live from Amsterdam: Eurovision In Concert 2015 performances". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Russian Pre-Party on April 24th". The Eurovision Times. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  15. ^ Adams, William Lee (27 April 2015). "London Eurovision Party 2015: Notes on the Live Performances". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Eurovision hopefuls Electro Velvet divide Graham Norton viewers as they perform entry Still In Love With You". Metro. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  17. ^ Siim, Jarmo (10 February 2015). "Australia to compete in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  18. ^ Escudero, Victor M. (26 January 2015). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  19. ^ BBC Three Entertainment (27 April 2015). "Mel Giedroyc to join Scott Mills as co-host of BBC Three's Eurovision Song Contest Semi Finals coverage". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  20. ^ "BBC Radio 2 Eurovision Returns!". BBC Eurovision. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  21. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (23 May 2015). ""Good evening Vienna" - Voting order revealed". eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  22. ^ a b Roxburgh, Gordon (17 May 2015). "Electro Velvet swing into action". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  23. ^ a b Roxburgh, Gordon (20 May 2015). "Light and smooth as velvet for the UK". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  24. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (22 May 2015). "Decision night for the 40 juries around Europe...and beyond". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  25. ^ Omelyanchuk, Olena (20 May 2015). "LIVE: Day 10 at the Wiener Stadthalle". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  26. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (22 May 2015). "Running order for Grand Final revealed!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  27. ^ "Electro Velvet: Still in love with you". eurovisionartists.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  28. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon; Roxburgh, Gordon (24 May 2015). "Sweden wins 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  29. ^ "Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  30. ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (1 May 2015). "Exclusive: Here are this year's national juries!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  31. ^ Quinn, Angus (24 May 2015). "Eurovision 2015 Split Results: Who Did the Jury Hurt?". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  32. ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  33. ^ "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  34. ^ "Full Split Results | Second Semi-Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Full Split Results | Grand Final of Vienna 2015". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
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